


Vengeance

by AmeliaAsherWrites, Cruella, Wickedly_Hooked (TheDarkOne)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Dark, Betrayal, Dark One Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Hurt Wishverse Captain Hook| Detective Rogers, Minor Alice | Tilly & Wishverse Captain Hook | Detective Rogers, Pre-Wicked Witch of the West, Torture, Wishverse (Once Upon a Time), role play format
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2020-10-19 03:50:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 42,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20650739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaAsherWrites/pseuds/AmeliaAsherWrites, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cruella/pseuds/Cruella, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkOne/pseuds/Wickedly_Hooked
Summary: Killian Jones and Zelena Mills have a troubled past. Killian was hired by Zelena to kill her master's maid, but he betrayed her and exacted his revenge on the Dark One instead. Unfortunately, it made him the Dark One and left Zelena without her beloved teacher. Ten years later, Killian is the Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin is haunting him as a deceased prior Dark One, and Zelena is very angry.





	1. Flashback

**Author's Note:**

> This has been co-written between three authors in a role play format.

It was a delightful morning. Birds were singing in the crow’s nest of the Jolly Roger as Alice played along the deck. Smee was besotted with the little girl as she had all of the crew wrapped around her little finger. Killian chuckled at the sight of the red-capped first mate fleeing from the little hellion as she threatened to stick him in the arse with her sword.

As he turned the wheel of the ship to port, he immediately brought up a smile as Alice jogged up to him. “Papa! Papa! I can see the village!” She waved her miniature spyglass at him in her enthusiasm. 

“Indeed, Captain Alice. What sorts of things do you fancy to use your share of the treasure for today?” The little girl scrunched up her nose at the honorary title bestowed upon her.

As expected, she went on to exclaim that she mostly wanted sweets and various marmalades from a certain confectioner she adored. 

“Perhaps some new dresses and shoes as well. You’ve nearly outgrown what you have, darling.” It was true. They hadn’t been to the village in months, living off the spoils of pirating other vessels, and she barely fit into her shoes any longer. 

The little girl was already an excellent swordswoman at the age of ten and had seen her share of lands. She had even spent some time in Neverland after her mother was killed. It was a place where Killian could simmer in his rage while Alice played with the Lost Boys (and her half brother, Baelfire) in a land of getting anything one wished for. When Killian had noticed his daughter wasn’t aging there, he knew they had to return to the Enchanted Forest or other places where she could grow as a normal child, without her father’s brooding need for revenge bogging her down. This was the point when Killian had given up his revenge in favor of Alice. He was all she had left, if the crew was excluded, but they were her family, too. And he wouldn’t be tempted to bother with Rumpelstiltskin any longer. 

Not a second after the ship had docked to the harbor, Alice bounded off into the village with her small sword at her hip, her skirt flying behind her. Killian had to hurry to chase after her, but he was too late in catching up. The girl had disappeared ‘round a corner. “Smee! Keep an eye on young Alice. Be sure she stays out of mischief.” He didn’t have to worry. She knew where home was and the villagers were harmless. None would be a match to Alice’s skills of evasion and swords anyway. But knowing his trusted first mate would be there for her left him with fewer worries as his mind was already turning towards business.

“Aye, Cap’n,” Smee agreed as he hurried off after the girl.

Killian continued on to the market where he could make arrangements for barrels of spirits and non-perishable foods to be delivered to the ship.

Zelena:

This bar seemed to be a pirate nest; at least it looked like one. When Zelena entered she was disappointed to have set foot in a normal tavern. No one looked dangerous or even like a pirate. There were kids as well, having some lunch with their parents. No, she wouldn’t find here what she was looking for. She turned, and left the tavern, heading into an alley that would lead her back to the marketplace.

It was narrow and dark, even for a sunny day, but it was a shortcut. Rats were scurrying around, and there were some puddles Zelena knew weren’t filled with water. She tried to evade them as best as possible when suddenly someone grabbed her brutally by her neck, and pulled her roughly into an entrance. Zelena gasped in shock, and was about to scream, but the other hand was laid over her mouth and nose, making it impossible for her to breathe. She was turned around, and Zelena could see a heavily built man, who pressed her against the door he had come out and was now closed.

“Make a noise and I’ll cut your throat.” Something cold was suddenly at her throat, and all Zelena could do was nod. She needed to breathe! The man eased his grip, but held his hand close to her face in case she would scream. Zelena gasped for air, and tried to stay calm. 

“It’s dangerous for a little missy to walk alone through a dark alley. Didn’t your mommy tell you that? There could be someone… with ignoble intentions. A pretty and young thingy like you… needs someone who takes care of her.”

The face of this filthy man was now close to hers, and his hand that was pressing her against the door started to glide deeper into an area that was clearly off limits. 

“Y-You’re a pirate?” She stammered.

The man grinned, and exposed some missing or rotten teeth. His breath smelled like a mixture of fish and beer, and his body odor told Zelena that this man had probably never seen a shower or bathtub in the last weeks or years.

“So tell me missy, what made you walk all on your own into a dark alley?” He was now fumbling at Zelena’s skirt, trying to lift it to get his hand under it.

“I-I-I’m looking for someone… a-a p-pirate.” Her voice was trembling, as was she.

“Well, well, it seems you have found one. I’m glad to be at your service…” His hand had shoved up her skirt by now.

“Captain Hook!” Zelena squeaked in panic. She tried to stop him, but the knife at her throat didn’t give her enough space to move. Suddenly a clicking was heard at the end of the alley.

Killian:

There was a call through the air that caught his ear just as he was walking past an alleyway. How serendipitous for the woman who was currently being accosted that she had chosen that moment to call his name. And how odd. How had the villagers known he’d arrived so soon? Well, it did stoke his ego a bit to know that even after being gone for months, the people recognized his ship when sailing into the harbor. 

Quickly, he drew the pistol from his belt within his coat and pulled the hammer back with his thumb causing an audible click as a warning. “Aye!” Killian spoke up loudly in answer to his name. “Let the lady be this instant or you’ll find yourself without a head.” His finger curled around the trigger. There wouldn’t be any hesitation if the bastard didn’t heed the warning.

And it seemed said bastard was the one to hesitate. He cast a narrow-eyed glint Killian’s way, even made eyes at the hook to acknowledge who exactly was stepping forth with a loaded pistol aimed at his head. 

Killian had to get closer lest the pistol’s aim be skewed. They were much more accurate at a distance of ten paces rather than twenty. 

His eyes moved to the woman, _young_ woman, he noticed, and pretty indeed. She looked terrified with the knife to her throat and the hand molesting her beneath the skirts. 

The brute neglected to heed the warning and threatened to kill the young woman if Killian didn’t step back and leave at once, but Killian could see the recognition in the man’s eyes. He knew of Captain Hook’s reputation. But the stubborn arse wasn’t moving. 

With the quietest sigh of regret, Killian pulled the trigger. An explosion of gunpowder emitted from the chamber as the lead ball sailed forth into the head of the pirate causing him to slacken his grip on the woman and fall to the dirty alley floor. “Next time, duck when a pistol is aimed near your head, aye?” He hadn’t wanted to do it, but the trace of blood that was leaking from the woman’s neck was disconcerting. And Killian had recognized the pirate who was threatening her. One that wouldn’t back off even if his own mother were in direct threat of evisceration. There were no second chances. 

Reaching forward, Killian took the young woman by the hand to pull her away from the deceased threat and out of the alley. “Will you have a drink to calm your nerves?” The tavern provided one of the support walls to the alley and it was a good noisy place to calm down, he assumed. “It seems you have me at a disadvantage, madam. You’ve heard of me, but I haven’t had the pleasure of your name…”

Zelena:

Someone was there, someone had said something. A man was demanding on letting her go. Zelena couldn’t see him; the knife at her throat didn’t allow her to move her head, and she couldn’t roll her eyes far enough to see someone. Please don’t go away, she thought, when the man who wanted to do terrible things to her told the other man to leave or he would kill her. He pressed the knife even tighter onto her throat, and Zelena felt something running down her skin. Blood.

“No, please, let me go,” she dared to whisper, but the man didn’t even look at her. Suddenly a loud bang echoed through the alley, and the man fell to the floor. Zelena stared at him in shock, noticing the blood that was streaming out of a hole in his head, and started to form a small stream down the alley. She didn’t hear the words of the man who had saved her, she only came back to senses when he took her hand and pulled her away from the corpse, and out of the alley.

“I-I… no, I-I don’t think so,” she answered the man’s question for a drink. “Thank you! If you hadn’t shown up, he would have…” Zelena didn’t need to speak out what had happened, it was only clear the man had saved her life. She shook her head, and tried not to think about it. The man had said something, and Zelena gave him a questioning look while she repeated the words in her mind. “I-I haven’t heard of you, to be honest. I have no idea who you are.” She stared at him. Why did he assume she’d know him?

“I’m Zelena,” she introduced herself, and made a tiny curtsy. “May I ask whom I owe my life to?”

Killian:

Killian’s pace at leaving the alley nearly stumbled to a halt when she professed to not actually know who had saved her. His mouth opened slightly in a complete lack of knowing how to respond. But seeing that she had been scared out of her wits, that could be expected, he supposed. 

Snapping his mouth shut, he grinned politely in attempt at concealing the momentary damage to his ego at not being recognized, and made a bow as he held out his left arm in a sweeping gesture that would reveal his hook. “As you called, love. Captain Hook, at your service.” 

He noticed the blood seeping down to her collarbone. She had been close, that was certain. Righting himself from the bow, he pulled a clean, black cloth from his pocket and whipped it outwards to unfurl the material and offer it into her hand. “For the wound.” He might have dabbed at it himself, but since she had just been attacked, he wouldn’t think to do so. “Hold it out,” he instructed. Quickly, he pulled his flask from his belt. It was dangerously low in rum, but she would need it more than he would. He poured a liberal amount onto the cloth, then took the last few drops from the flask into his mouth before recorking it and slipped it back on his belt. His hook encouraged her hand to press it to the wound. “This will hurt, but only for a moment.” 

His tone was kind as he couldn’t help but notice how young she was. Older than Alice by several years, he thought, but still young. If he’d caught someone accosting his daughter like this woman had been, he would have done far worse than put a bullet between the man’s eyes. That was why he’d gone and shot the man. He may have put murder behind himself for the most part since leaving Neverland, but at times, he felt compelled back into his old ways. He couldn’t regret it in this instance.

Zelena:

Zelena almost bumped into him when he suddenly slowed down. He looked like she had asked him for taking over his ship and sail away. It was not before he revealed _he_ was the Captain she had searched for that she understood his behavior. Her cheeks started to burn. “Oh, you’re Captain Hook?”

While she expressed her surprise he offered her a cloth for her wound. Her hands trembled slightly when she took it, and held it out as he had asked a moment ago.  
The pungent odor of rum came into Zelena’s nose, and she curled her lips. She didn’t like the smell of alcohol. But she held still until he was finished, and looked at him with widened eyes when he emptied the rum by drinking it. Ugh, gross, Zelena thought and suppressed a shiver. She knew it would burn, but she was thankful that she had something for disinfection. The pain was more intense than she had thought, and she let out a hissing when she tried not to scream. It took a few seconds until it was bearable.

“Thank you, Captain Hook,” Zelena said, and looked suspiciously around. Should she ask him right away? Or have a drink with him first? Zelena reckoned he would be more susceptible for the… job she wanted him to do when she invited him for a drink - or two. “You saved my life I’d say. May I ask you to join me for the drink you suggested earlier? The least I can do is to buy you one - or two.”

She gave him a most lovely smile, hoping he would accept her offer. 

Killian:

Killian noticed the way the young woman’s eyes darted around. She was either still concerned for danger of potentially another lecherous fiend after her, or she didn’t want to be seen with him when she offered to buy him a drink or two. Or… she was looking for him specifically for a reason. 

Considering the third option most likely, paired with the smile she was beaming at him, Killian tilted his head as he smiled at her likewise. His own curiosity was beginning to pique. “Aye. A drink would suffice if you’ll have the second one. And then you can tell me what it is that provoked your search of me by name.”

Raising an eyebrow at her, he waved the hook towards the entry of the tavern where raucous laughter was already rolling into the alleyway.

It was still late afternoon. Alice should be at the sweeties shop. Smee would have caught up with her by now if he knew what was good for him. So once inside the tavern, Killian would take a seat with his back to the wall. With an inclined chin to one of the serving wenches, they should promptly be served. 

Zelena:

The young witch beamed even wider at him. “Thank you, Captain Hook. I hope I can interest you in a deal.” Not realizing she used one of the favorite words of her beloved Rumplestiltskin, she followed his hint towards the tavern, and went ahead.

She grabbed for the door knob, but hesitated. The noises that came from inside didn’t sound very inviting. After what had happened in the alley, Zelena wasn’t sure if going into a tavern was a good idea. There would be more of this sort of pirate who had almost killed her, and although Hook was charming and had saved her life, she wasn’t sure if he could protect her again. Or would protect her. Maybe this was a trap?

Nonsense, he didn’t even know I was heading down the alley, Zelena thought, and found the courage to open the door.

The tavern was mostly occupied by pirate looking figures, and some of them looked at Zelena in a most… scary way. She swallowed, looked down, and made a step back, bumping into something. Not something, but someone. It was the Captain pirate she had completely forgotten about within the moment. 

“I-I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly, and made a few steps into the tavern, looking around. There was a small table with two seats hidden in a darker corner which actually looked perfect. Zelena simply headed towards it, and sat down, hoping the pirate would follow her. 

Killian:

The young woman seemed completely out of her element around tavern patrons. She appeared nervous. When she backed into him and apologized, he noticed her stutter. Killian placed a hand on her shoulder merely to brace her. “It’s alright, lass. None here will bother you.” He cast a glance around to see who exactly was in the tavern to be sure. If they didn’t want a fight, they wouldn’t bother a guest of Captain Hook’s. His reputation was sufficient enough that he had little concern of a confrontation. There was always one, however, that would try something. And he’d be ready. 

Once seated and two ales delivered to the table, Killian propped an elbow up to lean towards Zelena. “Tell me lass. What ‘deal’ do you propose?” An interesting choice of words. What could she possibly offer him? “Do you seek passage across the sea to flee the oppression your parents? Meet an erstwhile lover they don’t approve of?”

There was a trace of a good-natured smile in his eyes thinking it couldn’t be anything too serious with how innocent Zelena seemed. When did he gain a reputation where maidens would begin seeking him out for deals? Perhaps when he gave up his revenge. That was somewhat disconcerting. No matter. Zelena seemed bothered enough but willing to keep his company for a time, so he would hear her out.

Zelena:

Hook’s hand on her shoulder, even if it only was for a moment, together with his assurance no one would bother her calmed her nerves. Someone brought two ales, and eventually Zelena could relax a bit, and they had some privacy to talk. At least if she ignored the noise from laughter and talking around them. But she had the feeling she could talk to him without being overheard.

She was still thinking how to begin when Hook brought up the topic first by asking for details. Zelena took a nip of her ale so she had a few moments to clear up her mind.  
She couldn’t simply blurt out she wanted to hire him to kill someone, he would reject at once. Maybe she had to explain herself first. The Captain mentioned a passage across the sea for escaping her parents or being reunited with her lover...well, it was something about love. Maybe this was the way it could work.

She put the mug down, and gave him a shy smile. “Well, actually, this is about love...” Her eyes darted around once more, making sure no one would listen. She leaned a bit forward the same way Hook did.

“I’m about to lose the man I truly love.” She looked down, feeling hate and fear rising again when she thought of the situation in the Dark Castle. “Everything was perfect between us, he cared for me, he taught me magic, he was always there, but... “ Zelena couldn’t prevent the tears that appeared in her eyes, and she quickly wiped them away, looking at Killian again. “My master… my teacher,” Zelena corrected herself quickly, as the title ‘master’ sounded a bit stiff, “gets distracted by a new maid.”

Zelena fumbled a moment on her skirt, and pulled out a satchel that had been hidden in her underskirts. She placed it on the table, shoving it towards Hook. “The satchel is filled with gold. It’s yours if you help me to get rid of her. I want her dead.”

Killian:

Killian listened with interest as Zelena spoke of love and competition for her teacher’s affections. When she dropped a satchel on the table, he lifted it with the hook and set it before himself. Two fingers loosened the drawstring to find golden straw within. “A curious method of payment, aye?” He raised an eyebrow as he looked back up to Zelena. His fingers cinched the drawstring closed again lest someone else see what was within. 

Sighing, he pushed the satchel back into the middle of the table and reached for his drink. “Assassination is quite a dramatic move. One that, alas, I must decline. Can you not speak to your teacher if he loves you as you say? He can… dismiss her for another more plain maid?” He gestured with the hook as he offered ideas. 

The corners of his mouth raised slightly as he attempted not to smile but failed. How could he have been so wrong in assuming the young woman before him was innocent when she was attempting to plot murder? “I daresay, you are quite an attractive pupil. Can you not distract him with your own charms so that the maid becomes invisible compared to your prowess?”

Zelena:

The Captain opened the satchel but didn’t react the way Zelena had hoped for. Wasn’t a pirate always longing for gold? The satchel was full of it. Although it was golden straw she had ‘borrowed’ from Rumple, it should have been enough to convince him. But it seemed Captain Hook wasn’t much interested.

Zelena felt panic rising. He was the only one she had heard of; he was an honorable pirate. Whom else could she trust to get the job done? Most pirates would probably take her gold, promise her to do what she asked for, and either vanish with the gold or lure her into an empty alley and simply kill her. No, to make sure she stayed alive and the job would be done she had to convince him somehow.

“Captain, please, it’s not as easy as it seems.” She withdrew her hands and folded them before her waist, kneading her fingers nervously, and leaving the satchel where it was.  
“She’s not a random maid he hired for him to serve, he made a deal with her father; and his price was her!”

Zelena felt helpless. She hated that maid so much, she was ruining everything! Rumple had only eyes for her, although she didn’t have any powers, was boring, foolish and clumsy as well. She had dropped a cup only because of a joke Rumple had made. She actually had believed he would skin children! 

Rumple must find her funny as he enjoyed her presence. He had basically forgotten about Zelena’s presence. The young witch had tried to draw his attention back to her, but everytime Belle showed up (to serve tea or clean something) he was distracted by her.

Even when Zelena was injured by a spell that didn’t work out well, he had only briefly looked at the burns at her arms, and told her to heal it herself before his eyes slid to the maid again. Zelena had been in tears of pain, and of his disinterest for her. She didn’t manage to heal the burns by herself, and Rumple became annoyed when she begged him to help her. In the first moment he had yelled at her, but then remembered Belle was there too, and without another word helped Zelena.

After that the young witch loathed that woman even more, and came up with the plan to get rid of her. Rumple would soon forget her if Zelena told him she had run away. At least that was her plan. Now it seemed her plan was destined to fail because the pirate wasn’t so greedy for gold as Zelena had hoped. What made it even worse was the fact the he was suggesting to use her own charms on her master as she was a beautiful young thing.

Zelena remembered she had started to explain herself, but had been distracted for a moment by her desperate feelings.

“He only sees me as his student. I-I think he feels more like a father to me. The maid, he… he wanted to have her around, but not because he cares for her. At least that’s what he said. The Dark One never makes a deal to please someone, but only to benefit himself and if possible hurt someone. Like he did with Belle’s father.”

Zelena hung her head, and tried to hold back her tears before she felt stable enough to look at Hook again. “Please Captain, I really love him. Ever since he agreed to teach me magic. He even invited me to live in his Dark Castle! I-I can get you more gold if that’s not enough. I’m allowed to take as much as I like. He makes gold with his spinning wheel, you know? Just name your price.” Zelena gave him a most desperate look.

Killian:

Killian set his beer down at Zelena’s explanation, or plea was more like it. He had to curl a finger over his mouth to conceal the dark grin that was threatening to reveal his inner delight at the mention of the Dark One. This was the opportunity he had been seeking for years. 

How the devil she could love that… scaly imp… was beyond his comprehension, but he could see desperation and jealousy within Zelena. She was blinded by her idol’s charms, no doubt. This could work out marvelously. 

Dropping his hand, his expression softened from one of planning vengeance to one of understanding. Leaning in conspiratorially, he spoke. “Oh aye. I see that you will do anything to have your Dark One all to yourself.” Feigning a ponderous expression, his eyes roamed the ceiling, all the while he could barely wait to enact this plan. “Gold, you see, is a commodity that I have a plenty.” Despite this statement, he hooked the satchel from the table and brought it back to himself. “Though, my men need payment and a little bonus would suffice. But what I require in payment is a little more personal. From you, not from your Dark One.” He eyed the bag of golden straw knowing well enough she had stolen it. 

A twang from his conscience caused his eyebrows to furrow so that he had to look down. This was very clearly going to break his vow to be with Alice for as long as he could and to drop his vengeance for her. But, this could be so very easy, and then he would be done with it for good. Alice would truly have all of his focus after this was complete. And he could truly be the infamous Captain Hook that rid the land of the treachery of the Dark One. Nothing could possibly go wrong with this plan.

“In order to insure that you get your love all to yourself, my dear,” he started again, looking back up to Zelena, “I require trust and information. I must know where the object is which the Dark One holds most dear. Not a person, mind you, though I’m certain he finds you quite dear to his heart. No, I need to know where an object is. You see, he will try to stop me from this plot against his maid. If I hold this object, I’ll be certain to follow through with this plan flawlessly should he suspect the maid is in danger. I’ll take all the blame for the murder should he catch me, but I’ll also have a way out so that he doesn’t retaliate against me. You get your love, I’ll deliver the object into your trusting hands after the job is done. What I need is his dagger.”

Zelena:

He was reconsidering her words as she could tell. The fingers of her hands were interlaced, and she bit her lower lip while she waited nervously for his final answer. She had no idea what to say else to convince him should he reject her deal again. Gold, a tragic love story and honor was all she could offer; normally the gold incentive should be enough for every pirate. But not Hook. And that’s exactly why she needed him to do the job. He had some morale standards, but was still ready to kill for specific reasons.

His hand dropped, and Zelena thought she saw something like understanding darting over his face. Her hopes were risen, but he declined. He had enough gold, she had miscalculated his potential craving for gold. Zelena felt helpless, but suddenly the pirate took the satchel with his hook. Would that mean…? Zelena stared at him, and had almost cheered when he accepted the deal after all. But if he wasn’t longing for gold, then what was his price? 

Her stomach felt like she had a lump of ice in it when he actually named his price. A personal payment from her. Zelena went pale; she had to think back to OZ and the time when her father had used her as such personal payment a few times. She felt sick only thinking about having to endure that again, and was about to flee.

“...Trust and information…” were the next words she heard, and Zelena took a deep breath of relief. He had just saved her from such form of payment, how could she even think he would have such thoughts!

She listened to what he needed, and frowned when he wanted to know the location of a dagger. The Dark One’s dagger. Zelena had no idea what he was talking about. Rumple had a lot of daggers for display, but Hook was indicating that this dagger was something very special. Otherwise he wouldn’t use the description ‘the Dark One holds most dear’ and was thinking holding this dagger would help him to find a way out in case Rumple would show up. She had no idea of what he was talking about; Rumple had never mentioned such dagger, and his castle was… huge! The Captain was even willing to give it to her, and Zelena didn’t see anything wrong with it. Her only problem was that she really had no clue what he was talking about. 

“I-I’d like to give you that information, even that dagger you’re talking about, but… but I have no idea of what weapon you speak of! Rumple… I mean, the Dark One has some daggers, if you can describe that special dagger you’re talking of I should be able to find it.”

Zelena paused and tried to remember how the weapons looked like she had seen in his large glass cabinet. There was a golden one, maybe this was the one Hook was referring to?

“I think there is a golden one. Looks quite precious and I know he likes this dagger more than the other. Is it the golden one?” Zelena prayed it would be.

Killian: 

His eyes closed and he could pinch the bridge of his nose thinking he’d almost had the information, but he had to keep up a pleasant charade. He knew the dagger he sought was certainly not golden. What he’d heard in his inquiries on how to defeat the Dark One was that a specific dagger was imperative. 

“No, love. It’s quite unique.” He set his hook to the wood grain of the table and dug it in to carve the design in a wavy fashion. “Double edged as such.” Completing a rough image of the blade, he looked back up to Zelena to see if she was being truthful. “His name is etched along the length. You would know it had you laid eyes upon it before.”

Reaching across the table, his hand closed upon her laced fingers. “Any information on its whereabouts will be certain that your powerful teacher will not kill me before I am successful in completing this errand for you. Think,” he implored her with an encouraging and hopeful expression in his eyes. 

If this student was at all important to the bloody crocodile, she should know of such a thing, he figured. And if she didn’t, it was possible, she merely had idol worship for the Dark One. Interesting. 

If he couldn’t manage to find the dagger, perhaps he could use her against the Dark One somehow. Whatever happened, this was the closest opportunity he had since that fateful day on his ship when he lost Milah and his hand.

Zelena:

When Hook tried to give her a better description of the dagger Zelena watched carefully, but she had never seen such a dagger before. She shook her head while he went on telling her the dagger would bear his name. Zelena tried to remember if she maybe had seen such a dagger but wasn’t aware of it, but even if she tried to recall more specifically all the items the Dark One had on display, there was nothing that even look like it. Rumple himself didn’t even mention it to her yet.

Hook laid his hand around her fingers, and gave her a look that said “I’m sorry, but without you giving me what I want I can’t help you.” Well, Zelena wanted nothing more than helping him so she could get rid of this bloody maid, but she couldn’t! She tried once more to remember anything about daggers she had ever heard. But she was absolutely sure the only dagger Rumple briefly mentioned was the golden one when Zelena asked him about it. Nothing else!

She was close to tears now. The pirate was ready to do the job, but she couldn’t pay him. She looked at him with watering eyes, and clutched his hand with her fingers.  
“Captain, please, I would do anything if you help me. But I cannot tell you what I simply don’t know!” Zelena squeezed his hand firmly as she was afraid he could go away. There had to be something she could give him, something she knew or possessed.

“I could ask Rumple about the dagger, I’m sure he will tell me! Or… is there anything else I can offer? Maybe I could do something, I could… distract Rumple while you kill the maid. I know a way to get you in and out of the castle unseen… please, help me. I beg you!”

Killian:

He could tell the young woman was struggling to remember something. Anything at all. Imploring her to think hard, she did, but to no avail, he saw. 

At the mention of ‘Rumpel,’ Killian scoffed and pulled his hand away from her squeezing and pleading. “No. Your teacher is no fool. He would see through you, that you were too desperate and were hiding something. I can see through to your desperation this instant. You mustn’t be there when I am or the entire plan will be ruined.” 

The crude drawing of the dagger was mocking him now. He would find it. He had another idea on what might just work, but it was a very dark minded, foul thing to do which involved a level of trickery and betrayal in which he hadn’t given in to in a great many years. But, it could indeed work. 

Setting the hook into the carving, he scratched a line down the middle then against each wavy edge thus distorting the image. 

Looking back up to Zelena with a tense glare in his eyes, he persisted. “I shall not be caught and killed in this endeavor for you. If I see you at the castle, I will leave without the job’s completion. It shall be known that you were the one to hire me if I am caught. Do you understand? I will kill the maid for you as I see you are in dire need and I am ever one to appeal to a lady’s need for love.” He patted his hand over his heart in the most sincere gesture of gentlemanly manners as he could manage. All the while he was extremely delighted that he had finally found the opportunity to get his revenge.

Zelena:

“You want me to retreat in my room? Or leave the castle while you… y-you do it?” Zelena eyes widened in surprise. She couldn’t believe he had agreed! She couldn’t give him anything more than gold, but she was eager to help. “Thank you, Captain! You can’t even imagine how much I love him. You… you actually saved my heart from being broken!”  
A wide smile appeared on Zelena’s face, and she beamed at him.

He was just explaining the details and Zelena tried to listen. In her mind she was already experiencing the different scenarios after Belle was gone.

Would he turn to her for comfort? Or try to find Belle? Oh, Zelena had to make sure he knew she’d be dead. Her favorite scenario so far was Rumple looking at her, _really_ looking at her, before he would take her into his arms, kiss her passionately, and tell her he was terrible wrong, and that he’d love her. 

She sighed with pleasure, and suddenly remembered, before her little daydream would become true there was something to do first. She focused on Hook again. Luckily she managed to catch every word that he said.

“I understand. I will leave the castle, you won’t see me, promised.” The part with the blame however was something she didn’t like. She bit her lower lip, but if it had to be part of the deal to get rid of Belle - so be it. She nodded her confirmation.

“Deal’s struck,” Zelena said in the manner of Rumplestiltskin when he had a ‘customer.’ She held out her her hand for Hook to shake it. It wasn’t something that Rumple would do, but she felt it more binding. She didn’t know if pirates would do something like shaking hands.

“Do you know how to get in?” Zelena suddenly remembered that only the Dark One was able to poof in and out; Zelena had to leave the castle before she could transport herself. So… she could send Hook somewhere outside, but he had to figure out a way to get in by himself. “I can’t transport you into the castle, only to any place outside.” 

Killian:

It seemed the young and jealous lover of the bloody Dark One was pleased with his plan. He smirked at her outstretched hand and extended his own ringed fingers towards hers. Taking her hand, he stood from the table and bowed, his face hovering over her hand, but his eyes rolled up to keep watch of her. “Aye, love. A deal’s a deal,” his voice purred, completely pleased with himself and the coming victory. 

Letting go of her hand suddenly, he realized he’d fallen too quickly into his old ways. There was a certain darkness in the way he’d just treated the young woman and he really ought to be ashamed of himself for Alice’s sake. What if she had seen him behaving in such a way, or overheard what he was planning to do? 

To save face, he hooked the bag of golden straw, his hand taking it from the hook and stuffed it into an inner pocket of his coat. “Tell me, if you send me there, how will I get in? I’m no fool to think I can simply walk in undetected. How do you enter and leave?” And if she played her ignorant wiles at him again, the plan would be botched. Had he known how to enter the Dark Castle all of these years, pre-Alice that is, he’d have done it over a century prior and been well and done with it. Or potentially long dead himself by now. As it was, he knew damn well he wouldn’t be able to without being detected. He’d be skewered on the spot and likely with his own damn sword. Again. 

“I don’t suppose… your magic is strong enough to get me inside with you before you hurry off to your quarters?” He looked her over consideringly as if appraising her abilities and worth. “No, of course not. Ludicrous thought. My apologies, love. I simply don’t see how this plan will work.” He gave her a pitying look in hopes that she would try to prove him wrong, and began to reach into his coat to remove the pouch in which to return to her.

Zelena:

The perfect pirate manner Hook showed to make the deal binding was more than Zelena could hope for. She blushed, and watched him storing the payment away. The next step was talking about details; and Zelena realized they already seemed to have a little problem. "Well, I can enter and leave the castle whenever I want. Through every door I suppose. So far I always used the main portal.” Zelena tried to think of something so the pirate could enter the castle unseen. While she was trying to come up with something, Killian voiced misgivings. Obviously he didn’t think her powerful enough, and was also producing the satchel again to return it to her. Zelena almost panicked. She had just talked him into this job, and now he was rejecting because she couldn’t figure out how to get him in unnoticed? Zelena felt also offended by her honor that he thought she was not powerful enough to take that hurdle.

“I am powerful,” she said, trying to keep her temper. Despite her being powerful it was still the Dark One’s spell that protected the castle or kept individuals within its walls. However, no one could simply come and go as one liked. Except for her… There was a spell Rumple once taught her, a spell to extend her aura. Unfortunately Zelena had been distracted by her teacher and didn’t pay all the necessary attention to what he was saying, but… she had managed to cast a lot spells she didn’t even know by intuition. She was powerful, in more than one way. 

“There is a way to get you in. All I need to do is extend my aura so you can enter unnoticed. But to get you out, I have to be with you again. So… it is necessary that you call me once you have finished the job. It would be helpful if you kill the maid when she’s not lurking around in the great hall or in the same room with Rumple of course. But I can do it!”

Zelena didn’t take the satchel, and hoped her promise to manage the task would be good enough for the pirate.

Killian:

Tricky, tricky. He’d have to be certain Zelena got him out before she found out what he intended to do. Or… there was potentially another way out, after the fact. But he’d think of those details after he was successful. For now, Zelena was waiting for his reaction to her solution and a damn good one at that. 

Clenching his fingers tightly around the satchel again, he grinned a most rewarding smile upon the young witch. “Well. That’s certainly is a marvellous suggestion. An aura expansion. Of course you can do it.” He tucked the gold back into his pocket, then reached for his mug. Taking a deep breath, he nodded towards Zelena’s mug. “Best drink up, lass. To sure victory and to…” He paused to think on it for a quick moment before deciding. “To love, for you.” Killian shrugged, still wearing the easy grin, “Or if, gods forbid, I am to fail, the last drink I’ll enjoy.” After clicking his glass to hers, he would drain the mug. 

By now, Killian was in exuberant spirits in a high he’d not felt in years. If he was successful, he’d be back to the village by nightfall, he was certain, and home aboard the Jolly Roger in time to set sail for Alice’s tea.

Zelena:

With a breath of relief Zelena saw the pirate storing the satchel away again. So the deal was still up. She just hoped she didn’t promise too much. She had to trust her instincts this time, and needed some luck. When Hook raised his mug Zelena didn’t hesitate and lifted hers too. A shy smile appeared on her face when both clicked mugs. “Yes, to love,” she confirmed. Unlike Hook, she couldn’t empty her mug so fast, but she didn’t take it as a bad omen. 

The pirate seemed to be satisfied with the plan, and eager to start. “I can leave the castle by tomorrow again, if you need some time to prepare, but we can also do it now. Right after we leave the bar. Of course it would be good if we go to a place where no one sees us when we… disappear…” Zelena knew she was kind of babbling, but thinking of doing it _now_ she got excited and nervous. 

It was easy to come here, although not that easy to find someone who’d kill someone else. But she had found Hook, had convinced him, and she became nervous if her plan would work just like that. If Hook decided to go now there wouldn’t be any time to think again about it and find possible mistakes what could go wrong. Was Rumple really busy enough not to realize what was going on in his own castle? Would he somehow notice Zelena brought someone along? Was he with Belle in that very moment? What if Belle screamed and he would hear it, and save her in time? For a moment Zelena wasn’t sure if it wouldn’t have been better to think about it. But like always when she was emotional, she tended to act before really thinking. Something that displeased Rumple often when she fretted around because a spell didn’t work, and messed it up because she became too impatient.

Well, it was too late for second thoughts; she had already paid Hook, and he had agreed. 

Killian:

Zelena was offering the job to begin the next day, but Killian would have to explain why he needed a second day of collecting provisions if they were to delay. Shaking his head, he held a hand out for her to take and rise. “No, lass. I have today in the village. Tonight, my crew is to set sail again. Alas, it’s today or not at all.” He also didn’t want to be a second day without Alice. One day of such plans would have to be sufficient. 

“And of course, we could return to the alley for the great disappearing act?” There was a note of humor in his voice. Allowing the witch to transport him by magic was no easy thing for him to accept. He particularly loathed magic he had no control over, but in this instance, it would have to suffice. It was the only way to get him to his goal.

Zelena:

It was today or never. The pirate’s ship wouldn’t leave without his captain, and his crew would set sail tonight. Zelena swallowed, and eventually nodded. No time to regret anything, no time to back down. This was it. She felt her heart rate increasing, her hands clutched the mug for a moment, just in the need of having something stable to hold on for a second. Time to go. Hook was already holding out his hand for her.

“I’m ready when you are, Captain.” Her own voice sounded dull and oddly strange. But she looked into his eyes, confidence in her eyes. She had to believe that she could do it.  
“I think the alley is perfect for a little bit of magic.” She took his hand for support to stand up (such a gentle pirate, she thought with a smile,) and headed out of the tavern.  
She waited outside for Hook to follow then she would head towards the alley; provided she remembered the way.

Killian:

Once back outside, Killian inhaled deeply of the smell of the fresh air. Not as clean as the open sea’s air, but much cleaner than within the confines of the tavern and its stale hops smell.

He smiled with a tight-lipped smile towards Zelena in effort to not show the mingled sense of eagerness to finally sate his need for revenge as well as wondering if exactly _how_ he was going to get the blasted dagger in the first place to finish the job. Not the job hired to perform, of course, but he would endeavor not to show that sort of excitement in his expression. 

Unfortunately, the dead pirate was still lying haphazardly in the alleyway. Sighing, Killian reached for a potato sack, dumped the potatoes into one of the barrels propped into the alley, and ceremoniously draped it over the head and upper torso of the man. “He’ll be less conspicuous. After we’re gone, it won’t matter, but I’ll not have us caught with him.” He looped his finger in a circle in a gesture to Zelena to make haste, and his eyes continued to scan around the alley’s exit to make sure they were not being watched.

Zelena:

The dead pirate who was still lying around made Zelena shudder. She had been lucky the Captain had been there to save her otherwise she… no, better not think about it.  
She slowed down, intending to keep a safe distance to the body.

Jones on the other hand took care about the body, and his circling finger told Zelena she better hurry up to get them out of here. Poofing them both out of here was easy, getting into the castle not. But if they wouldn’t appear right in front of the doorstep she would have some time to think, and make it work.

Zelena stretched out her hand, waiting for the pirate to take it. Poofing herself was easy as well, and although she knew it was possible to transport both of them without touching the other one, she didn’t want to take a risk as she hadn’t done it before. So far Rumple had always insisted on her holding on to him. “Captain, hold on please,” Zelena asked. As soon as he would have taken her hand she would poof them to the path that led directly towards the Dark Castle. They would have to walk for about fifteen minutes, enough time for Zelena to practice extending her aura.


	2. Ten Years Later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This works has been written in role play format between three authors.

Zelena

After all these years one would think that the pain had eased, but Zelena felt it like a fresh wound that never closed. The curious student she had once been wasn’t there anymore; she had died together with the one she had loved so deeply.  
It had taken not more than a year to become the powerful witch she was today, but another nine years to create that dark, and most powerful spell that could bring back her true love. Despite all her studies, and knowledge - it was a spell against the law of magic. She could only hope it would work.  
Today might be the day to find out.

Zelena was somewhere deep in the Enchanted Forest. She headed to an old tower that had no entrance, and was not more than a ruin. It was a perfect hideout. The tower was too high for anyone to climb, and no one would come to this part of the forest; Zelena had made sure of it. The area was guarded by a mighty dragon; a dragon that was under Zelena’s control. Actually it was another witch going by the name ‘Maleficent’, but she was not nearly as powerful as Zelena, and it was almost child’s play to banish her into her dragon form, and keep her that way.  
A green jewel in Zelena’s possession made sure the dragon would do exactly as she wished; and it did.  
Maleficent had killed some intruders, and chased some away; enough to spread the rumor of a deadly dragon guarding the heart of the forest.  
Some knights had tried to kill the beast, but no one had made it back alive.

Zelena heard Maleficent’s roar not that far away, and smiled. Good, she was still watchful.  
She would know her mistress was back, so she prefered to stay out of sight.  
Zelena didn’t need her, and poofed herself into the chamber in the top of the tower.  
To make sure no magical being could enter, she had cast a blood spell around it.

She looked around; everything was as she had found it years ago. There was a bed, some furnishings, and a spinning wheel.  
Zelena felt a lump forming in her throat, and swallowed quickly. Her fingers trembled slightly when she touched the spinning wheel, stroke carefully over the wheel, and tried to stay in control of her emotions.  
It had been his favorite pastime. Sometimes Zelena had watched him spinning, lost in thoughts, a peaceful expression on his face, and sometimes there was a tiny smile on his lips.  
She had loved these moments.

She withdrew her hand abruptly when her pleasant memories started to turn into unpleasant ones.  
She looked away, her eyes searching the wall at the opposite. It was still there. Zelena smiled.  
Time to begin.

She used her magic to let all inventory vanish; everything except the spinning wheel. It was good to have something that reminded her why she was doing what she was doing.

Once the chamber was empty, Zelena conjured a large table made of oak wood that occupied most of the room and was located in the middle. Some waves and gestures with her hand let different tools appear, some lying on the table, some hanging on the walls.  
Torches on the wall shed a dim light, and made the chamber look most uncomfortable, and for normal people scary. The large window that was there before had vanished, and tiny openings in the wall were making sure the smoke could escape.  
Some skeletons in cages gave a nice scenery, and there were some large devices whose function made it clear what they were used for.

Zelena looked around. Something was missing…  
She added some manacles and chains that were now lying around, before she conjured the most important piece - a larger cage.  
She smirked in anticipation of the things that were about to come. Only… one last tiny detail was necessary.  
She took a vial out of one of her pockets, opened it, and poured the dusty substance onto her hand.  
She blew it carefully against the cage bars, that shimmered for a moment until the squid ink was fully absorbed.

“Time to invite him in.” Mumbling to herself, she stored the vial away, and walked over to the wall she had inspected before.  
She used her magic to remove a stone that was hollowed inside, and contained something, Zelena hid some years ago.  
Now it was finally time to use it.

She clasped the hilt of the Dark One’s dagger, and pulled it out. The name ‘Killian Jones’ was engraved in dark letters, and Zelena had to fight once more her emotions. Another name should be engraved upon the blade! How dare he…

With a sudden move she held the dagger outstretched, and spoke the words that would summon the Dark One.

“Dark One, I summon thee!”

Killian

He hadn’t been sleeping when he felt a strange tickle of awareness skirt along his skin. He never slept anymore no matter how hard he had tried to block out the stimuli and other voices of darkness that urged him to act. His mind was always active. Always thinking, wondering, and tempted to find Alice, the precious daughter he missed more than anything. More than the seas and the fresh air. Alice was his entire life, but he couldn’t have shown his face to her again. Not after what happened. He rarely left the cave in the forest anymore. Nevertheless, his eyes snapped open and he filled his lungs with the stale air when he felt a particular hold upon him grow stronger.

The dagger. Killian hadn’t felt the pull of the Dark One’s dagger since he’d become a Dark One ten years ago. He knew he should have one somewhere. He had killed the previous Dark One with it. He even knew what had happened to him shortly after being transported by the sticky oil that surrounded him, choked him, blinded him with hate and darkness to the Dark One’s Vault, making him exactly what he hated the most. He knew because all of the previous Dark Ones took their turn in explaining if not taunting him in what his new purpose was.

But there had never been a dagger bearing his name. Or so he thought. Now he knew he had one and someone was using it! Stiffening, he closed his eyes as the red smoke surrounded him and transported him to the call.

When he felt his boots find purchase beneath him, Killian opened his eyes again. The red smoke dissipated in a swirl to find a head of red hair just in front of him and the woman was holding the dagger. He could read his name plainly etched upon the blade as he peered over her shoulder. The sight caused his lip to raise in disgust. He hated the thing that would control him.

Before moving, he saw the cage in front of her. It was meant for him, no doubt. He could just simply push the woman in, but he was unable to act upon the idea. She held his dagger. She held the control.

“Bloody hell, it’s you,” he said with a trace of boredom to show that he wasn’t bothered by her cage. “I thought when someone would find that blasted dagger, it might lead to much more exciting prospects than that monstrosity.” His eyes flicked to the cage again.

While he was curious as to why she had summoned him, he had a damned good idea as evidenced by the skeletons in cages and the various implements scattered about the otherwise sealed room. She couldn’t kill him with any of those tools, only the one currently in her hand. “Have you finally decided to kill me, love, or are we going to attempt some of those exciting prospects?”

He’d kept his pirate leathers as some form of keeping a part of his previous life alive, thus minimizing the dirt he would have collected from the cave, but his hair had become shaggier in an unkempt appearance which would lead one to assume he wasn’t taking care of himself any longer. Why should he bother when he had been in isolation for the majority of ten years save for the rather annoying ghosts that haunted him.

Zelena

Hook appeared behind her and she whirled around. Seeing this man standing there made her sick. It seemed to be only yesterday when she had seen this pirate killing her master, teacher, sometimes father figure, and most importantly - the man she had loved more than her life. Rumplestiltskin. The man who accommodated her, taught her magic, and treated her a billion times better than her own step-father.

Zelena felt tears rising, but she suppressed them. She had sworn to herself not to show any weakness in front of this scum.  
“Yes, it’s me,” she answered, her voice cold as ice. “I’m glad you remember me.”  
She looked daggers at him, and took a moment to scrutinize him. He didn’t look like he had had a comfortable life in the past years. Good.

“Oh, don’t you like your new home? I made it especially for you.” She nodded at the cage when he was referring to it, and started to circle him.

“The last time I saw you, you looked… cleaner. Why don’t care about your appearance anymore?”  
She used the tip of his dagger and dragged it over his leather without cutting it. She just wanted him to feel the danger. It was not before he asked if she would now kill him or use some of her tools that she stopped.

She gave him a high, clear laugh.  
“Kill you? Oh Dearie, please.” Her expression changed from a cheerful into a loathing one. She was facing him again, and brought the dagger up to his throat.  
Her words were merely a whisper, and she tried to suppress her anger.

“I will kill you, eventually. But not by stabbing you. I will kill you in a way that is worse than death ever can be.” Her words turned from a halfway controlled whisper into a hissing.

“I will break you, I will make you suffer until you wish to die, and beg me to kill you! Don’t believe I would not know how to torture a Dark One. I. Have. Lived. With one!”  
Zelena started to shake with rage and fury. She was tempted to use the dagger and simply kill him, but death was too good for him. No, she wouldn’t let him get away that easily.

“You took him away from me! You… bastard!”  
Zelena felt she was losing it. She had planned on keeping her temper at any cost, but she realized it was much easier to think about it than actually doing it; not when the man who made her suffer worse than ever before in her life was standing in front of her. Being at the mercy of her.

Zelena made a step back, let the dagger sink but was still clutching it firmly with her hand. Then she took a deep breath, and tried to calm down.

Killian

Killian’s eyes were heavy lidded as he watched Zelena circle around him with his dagger. Strange to think of it as his. Something like that which was keeping him from acting out against her. His fingertips felt as if they were crawling with ants just waiting for a moment when she might set the dagger down so he could act in a split second, but to no avail. He was quite stuck.

Despite his internal urgency, he’d gained a remarkable sense of patience. He’d waited with naught to do but sit in a cave for years. He could wait out her tirade on how she was going to deliver a fate worse than death to him. He could laugh. She didn’t know he was already living it.

When the blade touched his throat, he raised his chin, but kept his eyes on her. He merely raised an eyebrow breaking his composed expression. His skin was burning under the threat of the blade. It was a clear sign that it would indeed kill him if she stabbed him with it. Perhaps that was what he wanted. But what of Alice? Should she really never see him again? For all she knew, he already was dead. Even after all of that time pondering in the cave, he still wasn’t sure if he was ready to meet the same fate Rumpelstiltskin was dealt with this blade. But it was the only way to end his misery.

When the blade was lowered and Zelena attempted to compose herself, Killian felt himself relax as well. So she didn’t like his appearance? Was he too dirty to be in her presence? Too damned bad. Life hadn’t been worth living. Why should he bother to look presentable, like he gave a damn anymore, without Alice?

“I took… him from you?” he asked for clarity pointing from himself to Zelena. “You do realize he’s a rather bothersome companion, do you not? He never shuts his bloody mouth. I did you a favor, love. To my own detriment.” There was a trace of unmasked malice in his voice as a stirring of a temper began in his chest, but he reigned it in for now. With an exaggerated nod, he turned to study the massive table in the room with all the rather graphic implements set upon it, and picked one up between two fingers as if he might see some sort of bloodied crust upon it. “And you think I’m not clean? Really, where did you find this rubbish? On the bottom of the sea?” No, he was not threatened by little Zelena, even if she was older now and possessed his dagger. Even if she were to hurt him, would it really be worse than the torment he was already under what with being haunted by the one Zelena accused him of killing? Doubtful.

Flinging the tool back upon the table, within the blink of an eye Killian magicked himself into sitting upon the table. He kept his eyes on Zelena and the dagger as if entranced. And really, he was. “No, no, no. I believe I owe you some gratitude, love. For you see, not only did I specifically tell you that I wanted nothing to do with your vendetta against the maid, but I no longer did that sort of thing any longer. Murder. Yet, I did. For you. So, thank you ever so much for making me what I am today.” Sarcasm thick in his voice, he gestured at himself with a sweep of his hand, and a hollow grin on his tired face. Even the prior light of happiness he once wore a decade ago was no longer there. It was replaced with ten years of sleeplessness, plotting, and failure. Ten years of having to act just to get the voices to shut up. An offered spell for a price or a convenient killing here and there seemed to calm the Dark One ghosts for a time, but eventually, that had lost its luster as he hadn’t been fulfilling a darker purpose like they wanted. He wanted nothing more than to sleep for eternity and be done, even if Alice was still out there somewhere. She deserved better than him.

Zelena

The Dark One was much too relaxed and unconcerned for her taste. But what had she expected?  
She didn’t know Hook well enough to forsee how he’d react to her summon.  
Admittedly, their first meeting had impressed her when he had saved her from this filthy pirate. But Zelena had been young, naive, innocent and secretly in love with Rumplestiltskin. Hook was the kind of man who had enough charm and charisma to twist a young witch around his little finger.  
She had never thought he would deceive her in such a cruel way. At that time she had thought a pirate would take her money, and had enough honor to do his job. Not this one. And Rumple had paid for it.

Zelena felt this terrible pain of guilt again; if she hadn’t hired Hook for the job, Rumple would still be alive. It was her fault.  
Her knees felt weak again. Every time when she thought of it she was barely able to stand up anymore. She bent slightly forward, pressing her free arm firmly onto her stomach.  
To make it worse, the Dark One started to mock her.

Zelena didn’t feel up to saying anything, she had to fight back her tears at the moment.  
He would pay for saying he had done her a favor by killing her Dark One!  
Her knuckles showed all white when she clutched the hilt of the dagger even tighter.  
A new wave of anger was washing through her, and the Dark One was babbling about the cleanness of her tools - and himself.  
Did he think she didn’t mean what she said? Did he think her weak?

“How dare you say that you did me a favor?” Zelena hissed, and lifted the dagger unwittingly when Hook made himself comfortable on the table.  
This arrogant, bloody piece of scum!  
By now the Dark One had switched into a sarcastic mood, and for a moment Zelena felt joy. At least he didn’t enjoy his life as Dark One.

“You didn’t murder for me, you only did that for yourself. You would have taken the money and killed the maid if you hadn’t heard the name ‘Rumplestiltskin.’ You only did it so you could have your revenge!”

Zelena rounded on him, and took an awl from a small table. Without hesitation, and driven by her rage, she rammed the tip into Killian’s throat, right above his shoulder. She knew it wouldn’t kill him of course, and it probably wouldn’t be very painful, but all Zelena wanted was to vent her rage on him.

“You don’t like being the Dark One? Good. Because here comes the part I’m really looking forward to.”  
She faced Hook again, and lifted the dagger, making sure he could see it.  
“Into your cage, pirate.”  
She waved the knife towards the larger cage waiting for him to step in. 

Killian

Killian barked a laugh. “Of course I did it for revenge! When you hire someone to murder, you can scarcely expect high morals.” He was grinning even when she stabbed him in the neck with her little spike. He grunted with the feel of the sting, of course, but he’d had far worse injuries and inflicted by the one who she was so incensed over losing.

When she stepped back, he wrapped his hand around the pommel of the tool and yanked it out to toss it to the table as well. The wound sealed up with the power of the darkness. How inconvenient. If that could have actually done damage, he would have been dead long before by his own hand.

The voices of the previous Dark Ones were beginning to speak up in whispers in his head though they hadn’t made themselves visible to him yet. The uneasy feeling they brought with them was building in his chest in response. Glancing with a rather reproachful expression towards the cage she ordered him into, he had a feeling the impending containment had something to do with the voices.

“You’ll have to do much worse than that, Dearie,” he mocked the accent with a dark twinkle in his eye as he hopped off the table. “In fact, use the dagger right here.” He tapped his hook right over his heart as he walked backwards towards the cage. As he passed by Zelena, he leaned towards her face and mumbled with smooth menace, “It’s the most satisfying feeling in the world to kill a Dark One. I would know.”  
Zelena

“I didn’t hire a murderer, I hired a bloody pirate who still had some honor to do what is asked of him after accepting a satchel of gold!”

She felt better after the metal spike sank into his flesh. Without further ado he removed the tool, and tossed it to the table.  
“Next time it will be more pleasant - for me!” Zelena clenched her fists, and watched him closely when he eventually followed her order and hopped off the table.  
“Believe me I will, love,” she said in the same mocking voice he had used by quoting Rumple or her. She didn’t know, and she didn’t care.

She ignored his teasing where to use the dagger best on him - that wasn’t what she wanted.  
However, before he stepped into the cage he leaned towards her, and his words hit her right into her heart.

Without thinking, and blinded with rage, Zelena used her magic against Killian. She lifted him magically up, and held him in a force grip.  
“Don’t you dare say something like that again. Ever!”  
Zelena was so upset and furious that she didn’t know what else to say. She wanted him to shut up, and went on strangling him.

He knew how to get to her. And yet she had tried so hard not to let anything come to her. She thought she had been prepared enough, but she was wrong. Only seeing him made her vulnerable. His words were like poison Zelena had no antidote for.  
Maybe Rumple had been right - love was a weakness. She had overheard him saying that once, and didn’t agree. She thought love would making one stronger, encouraged him, and made the days brighter. But after Rumple had died, the love she felt brought only pain. Terrible and endless pain to her heart.  
And the bloody pirate had only needed seconds to refresh that pain.

She was lost in memories about Rumple, when she remembered she was still strangling the Dark One. She had no time for that, and she was angry that it was so easy for him to manipulate her.  
She gave him a last, firm squeeze before she let him down again.

I need to stay in control of my emotions, Zelena thought. If she even failed to keep her temper, how could she focus on a major, and most dangerous spell?  
She doubted commanding him to shut up would be very helpful when even his eyes told her what he was going to say - and mock her.

As soon as Hook would get in the cage, she’d lock the door so she could let go of the dagger and get to work.

Killian

Once he was released, Killian made a strangled noise of sudden breath and stumbled, but righted himself on his feet. His hand gripped his throat, and with watery eyes and red in the face, he grinned at Zelena. So she was ordering him not to proclaim how easy it was to kill a Dark One? "Once was sufficient." And it was. He would risk another choking if it affected her that much.

The voices' whispering became louder as he took another involuntary step backwards towards the cage. Orders were orders and so long as she held that damned dagger, he had little control over the movement.

A familiar female Dark One became loudest first, her cool tone almost inquisitive as she spoke. "You know, there is something you could do to her aside from flapping your tongue." Nimue. Killian dropped his hand from his throat as he rasped out a sigh. The first Dark One. She was more pleasant to deal with anyway compared to a certain other. He wouldn't mind her company. "Take the spinning wheel," Nimue ordered as she clenched her fist.

Without thinking about it, as Killian tended to allow Nimue to have her way through his actions, Killian's hand clenched simultaneously causing the spinning wheel to disappear from its spot in the room while Zelena was too busy fuming at him in the doorway.

He took the final step backwards into the cage. There was an odd feeling within. He raised his hand to hover over the bar. The tingle felt in his hand told him there was squid ink coating them. He'd be quite effectively trapped once she shut the door. "Squid ink? How clever you are, dear Zelena." Pointing at her with a quick motion as she locked the door, he added, "You've learned in your years without the imp."

After she left him and set the dagger down, his eyes went to it immediately, but he couldn't summon it to him. Damned squid ink. "Patience," Nimue purred at his side. His eyebrow twitched at the dagger, but he followed Zelena's movement wondering what she was up to.

Zelena

A green fireball appeared on Zelena’s palm when Hook decided to play with the fire again. Her lips pressed firmly together, Zelena felt hate overwhelming her.  
He did it again. She realized it in the next moment. Although she wanted nothing more than to see him burn, she closed her hand, and the fireball vanished again.  
Her chin started to wobble, and she was grinding her teeth.

She had to restrain herself. She had important things to do. The pirate could distract her too easily so she was in danger of making a mistake that would ruin everything.  
Easier said than done, Zelena thought. She closed her eyes, and took some deep breaths.  
Her time would come. She needed only a bit more patience.

A fierce smile on her lips, she watched Hook entering the cage. By the look in his face Zelena could tell he was immediately aware that these cage bars weren’t normal ones. And he confirmed her thoughts by giving her a teasing compliment about using squid ink.  
“Don’t believe I wouldn’t know you would try to find any possible loophole. You probably will, but as long as you’re in the cage I don’t care about your tricks.”  
She locked the door once he was in, and put down the dagger in a safe distance from him. Of course he tried to provoke her again, and he was successful. Zelena, who was glad she wasn’t facing him when she put the dagger onto the table, curled her lips in anger, but managed to answer him more calmly than she felt.

“I was very passionate about continuing Rumple’s studies after you killed him.” She turned, stepped to the cage and clasped the bars with both hands. Her face was as close as possible, and her tiny smile wasn’t a friendly one. She kept her voice low.  
“So, I guess it’s a bit of irony here - by killing Rumplestiltskin, you actually forced me to become the most powerful witch ever. Too bad for you that everything I achieved, everything I learned I only did to find a way to make you pay.”  
Zelena’s next words were more a hissing.  
“Don’t underestimate me, Dearie. You will pay for every single moment I had to suffer.”  
Zelena backed off a bit, her hands still clutching the bars.  
“I have so many creative things in my head to make you pay, love.”

She laughed wickedly, and headed to the table. She was tempted to give him a little foretaste of what she would do to him, but she managed to resist. Now was not the time.  
Zelena took some vials out of a shelf that were standing in the former bedroom, and needed some time until the table was mostly covered with different liquids and potions.  
She also took an ancient scroll out of her pocket in her dress, and used two glass vials to keep the paper flat.

The dagger laid beside her in case she had to use it. She doubted Hook would stay quiet for too long. But the first steps of creating the spell wouldn’t take too long, and she reckoned she could manage the first part without shutting him up.

Rumple

Rumplestiltskin clapped his hands excitedly at Nimue when Hook acted on her recommendation to take the spinning wheel. He now owed her one but whatever the cost, he trusted it would be reasonable. Hook probably wouldn’t have been willing to oblige if the request had come directly from his predecessor. The Dark Ones cooperated for the most part, in order to influence their newest host.

But not always.

As soon as the bars locked shut behind them and Zelena turned her attention elsewhere, Rumplestiltskin started in. “Happy?” He crossed his arms over his chest, frowned and continued with his best Hook impersonation quoting sentiments he’d heard many times over the past decade ’staying in this cave’, ‘not like you, Crocodile’, … “

He straightened, shrugging off the impersonation and then bowed his head slightly, dramatically waving a hand to present their new surroundings. “Welcome to your much smaller home.”

He was mocking Hook’s cavalier attitude toward any attempts to get him out of the cave and in search of the dagger. Not knowing where it was these past 10 years unnerved Rumple even more than the others. He had spent a couple hundred years in possession of it when it bore his name, yet they had never even _seen the one with Hook’s name. Until today.

The only thing worse than spending eternity trapped with his nemesis and murderer, was allowing the Darkness to be under someone else’s control. Rumple wouldn’t admit he more than a bit surprised to find that it was possessed by none other than his protégé, Zelena. He paced the cage, hands clasped behind his back, before stiffly leaning toward a set of bars, sniffing at them. Squid ink. Curious, he ran a finger along an edge and then rubbed it against his thumb as if inspecting for cleanliness. “The place is filthy.” His teeth showed through a disapproving sneer.

Killian

Killian watched with a curious expression as Zelena stood on the other side of the bars threatening to do horrific things to him. 'She should threaten you without the bars to protect her. The things we could do to her...' Nimue had a certain cat-like gleam to her eye as she watched Zelena like she was the prey.

"Aye," Killian answered the Dark One as his eyes flicked back to Zelena. "Such a strong lass now. Do you think you could take me on without control of my dagger? Without me in this cage?" The curve of the hook held a yellow glow in the dim candle light. He tapped the steel against the coated bar to hear a reverberating echo fill the room. "Wouldn't it be interesting to see just how much you learned on her own?"

Yet, there was another sound just behind him causing Killian to wince as another Dark One popped into his very near proximity. He made an audible groan over that. Nimue faded from sight, as a result. "Enraptured," he answered through his teeth to the question of if he was happy, though he knew it had been mocking him. "I actually like her presence, but you show up and she leaves. Bloody crocodile." There was barely any malice in his tone, however. He'd gotten quite used to the haunt after ten years of this. It had only been a matter of time.

He'd have to listen to more mocking jabs at his poor decisions since becoming a Dark One it seemed. Killian followed the imp's pacing as he turned his back to Zelena. He wouldn't admit the Crocodile had been right about the need to seek out the dagger. He wouldn't have changed anything. Or rather, post-Darkness anyway. Alice would remain safely oblivious to his state. Leaving the cave had offered far too much temptation. Now, he may very well pay for not finding it earlier.

He watched further as the glittery finger touched the bar and inspected it much too closely. Was that a gleam in the Imp's eye? Killian raised his lip. "Oh, don't... don't lick it... Here. I've gotten you a present." Waving his hand outwards, the spinning wheel he'd stolen appeared in the cell.

Suddenly remembering he wasn't alone in the room with his own demon, his eyes shot towards Zelena as he attempted to put on an innocent face as if he hadn't just been having a conversation with himself. He knew what it looked like. "How's the torture session coming along? Need any assistance?"

Zelena

When Zelena was about to step away from the cage to get her items, she was almost tempted to go back, open the cage, and simply drag the Dark One out. As furious and quick-tempered she might be, she wasn’t stupid either.  
She knew she could never win a magical fight against the Dark One without possessing his dagger. Maybe she could hurt him, but in the long term he would kill her. The Dark One was immortal; Zelena had only one life.

So she went on preparing everything, and only muttered “Nice try. I’m not the naive and impressionable young witch anymore you once met. So go on talking. It only makes it worse for you later.”  
The Dark One seemed to comment her words only by saying “Enraptured” which brought a smile to her lips. It seems this time she had the better line.

After she had prepared everything she was focused completely on the spell, and not messing things up. She even managed to block Hook out of her thoughts for a moment, and didn’t realize he was starting to talk to himself.

It took only a about a minute to mix up the first substance she needed to revive Rumple. It seemed to have been successful, and she relaxed, holding out the vial in front of her.  
“Ah, now see - that is a perfect green.”  
She looked at Hook for the first time after locking the cage, and began to realize he was saying something.

Zelena frowned. What the hell was he babbling about not licking and having a present?  
“To whom the hell are you t….”  
The spinning wheel, his precious spinning wheel, suddenly appeared inside his cage.  
Zelena gasped in shock, and almost dropped the vial.  
A quick glance to the place where she had left the spinning wheel told her, that it really was hers.

“Don’t you dare touch it!” she yelled. Oh, this was too much. With a wave of her hand her vials and the scroll had disappeared from the table, leaving an empty area, and some working tools on it.

Cold fury ran down Zelena’s veins, when Killian even dared to asked how her torture session was coming along.  
She grabbed the dagger, and unlocked the cage door with her magic, keeping a safe distance.  
“You’ll find out in a few moments. Don’t even touch the spinning wheel, and get onto the table. Lie down on your back, and don’t move until I say otherwise.”

Rumple

“What? NO! I wasn’t going to lick it! What do you…?” Rumplestiltskin turned at the accusation, but Hook quickly deflected the conversation by mentioning the present that he now caused to appear within the cage. Rumple pretended to be surprised, easily done as his gleefulness re-emerged. He leapt from one foot to the other at the sight of it nearby before actually taking the steps necessary to get to the wheel. 

He ignored the exchange between the other two, Hook trying to cover for the words he’d spoken aloud that had been meant for his predecessor. Rumplestiltskin took to the wheel, fingers tingling with anticipation and slowly glided his palm along its outer rim. It had been worn smooth by his own hands over centuries. To feel it now brought back many memories. He sat and gave the wheel a gentle turn, revisiting his past.

“No straw?” he complained, but Zelena’s shriek and command not to touch the spinning wheel garnered his attention. It was his and he’d damned well touch it if it pleased him. Her possessiveness over it surprised him, so he studied her features while she stood nearby having unlocked the cage.

Absentmindedly he continued to turn the wheel, slowly pulling down at the end of a spoke every so often.


	3. Spinning Wheel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This works has been written in role play format.

Killian

Zelena was screaming at Killian not to dare touch the spinning wheel. He hadn't yet and he didn't intend to. It wasn't his toy, it was the imp's. Regardless of ownership, Killian raised a hand, and added, "I certainly will not. It's for him anyway," and gestured towards Rumpelstiltskin, who she no doubt would not be able to see. He walked out of the cage as ordered, but slowly.

He cast a side glance to the imp who was busily fondling the spinning wheel. Appeasing one of the voices was imperative lest the imp ramp up into a full on rage if he were to get through Zelena's plans with a sane mind. Having the imp screaming while Zelena screamed would make it all the more difficult if he were to resist the pain she was sure to inflict. No, Rumpelstiltskin looked sated, minus the straw. In the blink of an eye, a small pile of straw would appear at the side of the spinning wheel. The small distraction would help Killian himself because as the prior Dark One was eased, so would the current Dark One as the two were somehow linked.

Sighing greatly, Killian poofed himself upon the table. Once he laid down, he felt compelled not to move and so he laid there frozen in wait, but his ear was trained on the spinning wheel as it glided slowly in a circle as Rumpel channeled his ability to affect this plain through Killian.

Zelena

A constant humming made her look to the spinning wheel again. It had started to turn. Zelena was speechless for a moment. Didn’t she just order him not to touch it?  
The word ‘touch’ left bells ringing in her head. Suddenly she understood. That bloody bastard Hook had found a loophole! By ordering him not to “touch” it she had forgotten to include his magic as well.  
Oh, she had to be very careful, but he would pay for this too.

What she confused were the words Hook spoke before she could yell at him. Zelena forgot to yell at all, and furrowed her brows.  
“What is that supposed to mean? Who-who else is here? And stop using Rumple’s stuff, magically or not.”  
Zelena didn’t understand what was going on, but there was an easy way to find out.  
“I command you to tell me the truth about what is going on here. To whom are you talking to? Who is here with us?”

In the meantime Killian laid on the table like Zelena had ordered him. Poofing himself on that table gave her another warning. She had to learn a lot on how to use the dagger properly. That bloody pirate was clever, and if she didn’t pay attention very carefully, she might end up with him possessing the dagger. And that was something she had to prevent at any cost.

She stored the dagger away in her boot.

Zelena would wait for Killian’s explanation before she’d fetch the squid ink she had used for the cage. There wasn’t much left, but it would be enough to use it for a manacle. Even one covered with the precious dust should be enough to prevent the Dark One from using magic. But that was to be seen.

Rumple  
Rumplestiltskin giggled at the appearance of the pile of straw and set to work immediately, separating small bundles of equal lengths. He neatly aligned the ends then coiled them around one hand. Slipping the coil off, he then ran his fingers along it’s length, grinding the strands through his fingers as he straighten the bunch again. Where his fingers had passed over the broken straw, it had been turned to fiber ready for spinning. 

He listened in on the conversation, though it wasn’t difficult with all the yelling, his former student displaying quite a bit of emotion. He found himself tsking at her, forgetting her lessons.

“Us, us, all of us, and none of us…” he muttered, mimicking the last word of Zelena’s question as he set back toward turning the wheel, this time having something to actually spin. The fiber turned to thread on the spindle where he carefully looped the thread around a second one in the opposite direction so it would simultaneously wind off after becoming gold. This final gold thread found its way gracefully toward the floor and looped into a pile there.

Meanwhile the Dark One flaunted his magic by performing parlor tricks. The pair of them were highly disappointing.

Killian  
Killian couldn't move until her command to tell her what was happening. He was able to sigh an aggrieved breath at that and though he didn't move besides his mouth, he felt some tension leave his body. It was her small allowance and the continuing whir of the spinning wheel reaching Killian's ears that was rather comforting and did much to ease the tension in being controlled and restricted as he was. Providing the spinning wheel to the imp's ghost had been clever of Nimue.

Rather dispassionately and not at all with force, he admitted the truth by mimicking the imp's chant with an impish, Scottish lilt to his voice. "All of us, and none of us."

Rolling his eyes towards Zelena, he wanted to see her frustration in the strange admittance as he assumed she'd not understand. He'd answered her question in full as he saw it. It was all of them, himself included.

"I'm talking to you, love. I'm not doing anything to the spinning wheel, but look how it spins. Do you see the gold created from it? It's not done by my hand. Your command is strong. Who is it that we're acquainted with that can do such things?"

He could barely roll his eyes far enough to see where Rumpelstiltskin sat, but he'd heard the tsk and the disappointment in his voice. "He's not too pleased with either of us, I'm afraid." There was a note of cynicism in his voice. Killian didn't care one whit about the opinion of the crocodile, but he hoped Zelena did. Perhaps it would distract her from her plans involving his immobilization on the table.

Zelena  
Why was the spinning wheel still turning? It was even getting better - there was a bundle of straw lying near it, and Zelena could see a golden thread forming that wriggled in loops on the ground.  
Zelena stared at the empty spinning wheel. She wanted to yell at Hook, use her magic and strangle him again, but all she could do was stare at the gold thread that became longer from second to second.

Her head turned around, focusing Killian when he answered in a rumple-like voice and manner in a riddle.  
Zelena was close to lose her patience.  
“What the hell are you talking about? I ordered you to stop this and tell me what’s going on here!”  
She was a second too early, as in the next moment Killian explained to her. At least, he explained something that didn’t make sense yet.

Zelena snapped at him, as it was too much for her to bear.  
“There’s no one there! Who are you…”  
Her voice suddenly died when she guessed who he was talking about. She shook her head in disbelief.  
No, it can't be. He’s dead. I saw him being killed. He…. he cannot...

Despite she knew Rumple was dead she hurried into the cage, searching for his invisible figure with her hand stretched out. But there was nothing, but the wheel was still in use…  
And now the pirate said Rumple wouldn’t be pleased with one of them either.  
Filled with fury and desperation because she knew Rumple was somehow here, but she couldn’t see or touch him, she stepped out of the cage, and closed the distance to the table with Hook on it with two or three steps.

“I’ve enough of you,” she spat at him, and was tended to punch him right into his face.  
But instead she magically used the manacles (one prepped with the last bit of squid ink) to secure his hands and feet onto the table until he’d lay spread out to all four edges.

“Tell me, is Rumple really here? Is he here?” She was down to yelling.  
She raised her arm, intending to thrust it into The Dark One’s chest and rip out his heart.

Rumple  
Rumplestiltskin attempted to avoid Zelena’s waving arms as she searched the space he occupied. In her frenzy she was too quick and her hands passed through him, disrupting his work. While the wheel continued to spin, the thread unraveling from the spindle was no longer gold. 

Zelena, not being able to feel proof of his presence, had exited the cage. Rumple called after her in his frustration. “Look what you’ve made me do!” He held up the imperfect thread pointing out where it had ceased to be gold.

The wheel stopped spinning.

Paying attention for the first time to Hook’s actual predicament, Rumpel wandered out from the cage, taking in the sight before him. Hook prone on the table, manacled, daggerless, and soon to be heartless from the looks of it. Zelena’s redundancy was redundant. How many ways must she try to control him?

“She’s a bit much, no?” he approached Hook, leaning in and looking over his restraints. “First she stole your dagger…” he grasped viciously at the air in a pantomime of taking possession. 

“Then she incapacitated you with these.” He lifted a cuff between thumb and forefinger as if disgusted him. “And, she’s about to take your heart if you don’t do anything about it. Perhaps rather than a Dark One you are really a Medium Grey One.” He fluttered his hand letting his fingers roll in the air as if painting a pallet.

Killian  
Killian waited patiently while Zelena went into the cage to feel for proof of his words. He had naught else to do but wait anyway. Of course, she found no proof of the imp's presence. She wouldn't.

The imp was not pleased with Zelena's interference in wrecking his work and Killian had to suppress his amusement over the debacle.

When Zelena returned, Killian rolled his eyes to look upon her frustration. "Aye. He's here. He's always here. He or the others before him. " His eyes moved to look at the imp who was pointing out more of his faults at present.

The cut about his failure in being a Dark One struck a chord in Killian and his eyes narrowed. It was one thing not to have wished this curse upon himself, but to be belittled as a failure angered him. He raised his lip in a snarl. If only he could move. "What would you have me do? You were powerless yourself in similar circumstances! Bloody crocodile."

Snapping his eyes back to Zelena, he said with his own heated demand, "Want to see your precious Rumpelstiltskin again? Use the damn dagger! My heart will do nothing for you. You and he can be together again forever and leave me at peace from his taunts!"

Zelena  
In her rage about Killian she neither realized that the goldthread wasn’t made of gold anymore nor that the wheel had stopped. Her hand was already in motion, ready to take his heart, but she stopped inches above his chest when the pirate confirmed that Rumple was really here.  
Zelena went pale, and her hand dropped to her side. She had ordered him to tell the truth. He couldn’t lie.

“I want to see him,” Zelena whispered so lowly that Killian wouldn’t hear it. It was her most fervent wish to see Rumple again. He was here, and she couldn’t see him, couldn’t touch him or talk to him. For a moment she thought she’d lose her mind.

She focused on The Dark One again when he seemed to talk to him.  
“Don’t call him that! He’s no crocodile!” Zelena hissed before she asked “What did he say?” 

Her question and Killian’s comment directed at her overlapped, and before Killian could answer her question, his words hit Zelena. He had said Rumple wasn’t pleased with any of them!  
And now the pirate offered her to be reunited with him.  
She knew if she’d kill The Dark One with his dagger she’d become the new Dark One, but so far she didn’t know she would be able to see her beloved Rumple as well.  
Why not, she thought. She could have it all; revenge on the pirate, being reunited with Rumple, and become the most powerful magical being.  
Slowly she took the dagger out of her boot, and stared at the black letters that read ‘Killian Jones’ across the blade.

The Dark One was lying on the table, not able to hold her back. It was so easy…  
Zelena held the tip of the dagger to his chest, right above his heart. A bit of pressure, and….  
“No!” With a cry she stepped away from him, the dagger still in her hand.  
Zelena just realized that Rumple and others were only in his head, torturing his mind. She wouldn’t be able to touch him. She had almost made a fatal mistake.

Zelena stored the dagger back in her boot, and went back to the table.  
She glared at the pirate. Again he had used her feelings against her. Why was it so easy for him to manipulate her?  
“No, you’re not getting away that easily.”

She had to go on with her plan. She wanted to see him suffer first, and then, maybe then, she would consider to end his misery.  
But now was not the time.  
She moved her hand over his chest, and this time she poked her pointer in the place where the dagger had been seconds ago.

“You almost had me, pirate… almost.”  
Zelena’s finger started to penetrate his skin. She could rip out his heart with a quick move, or sank her fingers slowly into his chest. Right now she prefered the second option.  
She had no idea if she could simply rip out his heart, but she intended to try.  
“I hope it hurts,” she hissed, increasing the pressure.

Rumple  
Rumplestiltskin was close to Hook as the man snarled his insinuations and called him the familiar pet name. They hadn’t been similar circumstances at all, not in Rumple’s mind.

“I wasn’t bound to a table, powerless! I chose to give up my dagger, and you bloody know why!” He mocked the man’s cursing as he snapped back, his teeth proudly on display inches from the man’s face. Without looking, Rumplestiltsking jabbed a talon into Hook’s chest just above his heart. 

“Right there!” He instructed Zelena of it’s placement. If he could, he’d do it himself! He spun his head toward her now, seething. “TAKE IT!” He yelled as if that might make his voice audible to her.

He wanted Zelena to hear him instead of Hook. He wanted to see the foul thing ripped from Hook’s chest and crushed, even if they were in some way one and the same as the Dark One. Even if it didn’t work, it would still be satisfying.

Zelena stepped away from the table and Rumplestiltskin impatiently repeated his command, his desire as he poked again at Hook's leathers.

“TAKE...IT!"

Finally she returned and he looked on eagerly, playing his fingertips together in glee, giggling as Zelena worked her fingers into the pirate's skin.

Killian  
There was pain radiating from his chest where two fingers were digging in, but there was also the pain of being nagged half to death. If only that were effective enough, he wouldn't have to endure whatever Zelena had in mind to do to him. Would she just use the bloody dagger already? Why did she have to tease him with a look at the end just to conceal the damned dagger again? He wanted to say it aloud, but with the pressure building in his chest, he merely gritted his teeth glaring.

What she was doing, however, was not going to kill him. Even if she did remove his heart, it would do her no good just as he'd said. "There's only another way, dearie," he growled through clenched teeth. "To see him again. You have to release me.”

The imp's shrieks near his ear were maddening, and Killian wanted nothing more to have use of his magic again even if simply to remove his own ability to hear. Anything to shut of the incessant ranting. And after I gave you your damned toy! The thought thrown carelessly at the previous Dark One.

But the reason Killian had been able to take down the Dark One before was one in which he felt very shamed over and had lamented over the deception for the past ten years. He did deserve this treatment. All of it.

The pain and annoyance all bundled into one over-stimulating irritant were more than Killian wanted to endure. "Cease this! I can help you, Zelena! A deal! You have nothing else to lose!"

Zelena  
The pirate clenched his teeth, but he didn’t seem to feel much pain, but simply wasn’t pleased what she intended to do to him. But she merely had begun. She would make sure he was going to _feel_ any pain her heart had to endure over the years.

Zelena smiled while she dug her fingernails as slow as possible into his chest. Did he really think she didn’t know nothing she would do to his heart or himself would kill him without the dagger?  
He tried again to end this. But this time Zelena wouldn’t allow him to manipulate her by playing her with Rumplestiltskin. 

“Oh, don’t worry, _love_, I will see him again.” Her fingers had sunken into his chest, and she used her fingernails in him, scratching through every single layer in his chest.  
“But I think if Rumple is really here, he might like what I intend to do with you.”  
By now only her knuckles were visible, and she could already sense the vibration of his heart muscle. 

And eventually the pirate showed a reaction Zelena had hoped for, although it wasn’t what she had reckoned with.  
He offered her a deal. There was no deal she would be interested in. However, Zelena was curious, but didn’t intend to show it.  
Her fingernails scratched over the surface of his heart. She used her fingertips to trail down his heart bit by bit until she could clutch her hand around it. But for now she contented herself with using two fingers to squeeze it firmly while it was still in place.

“O-ho, and how could you help me, love?” She gave his heart a brief squeeze.  
“What could you offer me? Let me see…” While she was talking she used her fingers from time to time to torture him a bit.

“I’m the most powerful witch. I have a dragon to guard my secrets, not to mention my magic. I have the Dark One’s dagger… oh, actually _your_ dagger, so I could even rely on that source of power. I can simply _take_ whatever I desire. What I _don’t_ have is the man I loved. Because you. Took. Him. From. Me!” Every accentuation was accompanied by a firm squeeze of his heart.  
“So tell me pirate. What could you offer me?”

Zelena released his heart, but let her fingers in his chest, ready to rip it out. 

Rumple  
Rumplestiltskin continued talking as if Zelena could hear him, interjecting himself into their conversation.

“Don’t listen to him, Dearie. The Dark One lies, the Dark One tricks. You can’t see me.” His nose crinkled as he spoke.

Rumple didn’t want Hook succeeding in distracting Zelena from her task at hand. His fingers twitched wanting to feel them around Hook’s heart, vicariously through Zelena’s. And he shushed the pirate at the mention of the spinning wheel. 

“Yes, yes, I’ll play with it later, this is too much fun!”

She spoke about him liking what she was about to do to Hook and Rumplestiltskin whole heartedly agreed. 

“Oh I do, I do! Nyeha-ha!” The soles of his boots tapped on the ground as he bounced. 

Growing impatient for the punishment to begin, Rumple felt a flutter in his chest as he watched Zelena’s fingers sink deeper and wiggle about. Get on with it! It wasn’t until she mentioned Hook having taken away the man she loved, that he felt a sudden pain.

Several of them in fact. With every word she spoke. 

Looking down he realized that the pain he felt was timed with her words and the squeezing of her hand. His hand clutched at his own chest to stop the tightening he felt. A grimace had replaced his impish laughter. It stopped when Zelena ceased talking and her hand relaxed. 

As he caught his breath, Rumple’s eyes flashed between the two of them and himself, realizing that somehow he was feeling the effects of Zelena crushing Hook’s heart. 

Killian  
With each scratch of her fingernail and every squeeze of her fingers against his heart, Killian's wince and glare grew into more of a grimace and finally ended with a barely restrained growl of a moan through his teeth. He was breathing heavily when she finally stopped.

She sent an order with the question just as Rumpelstiltskin's sadistic glee faded into his own grimace. 

Still panting with the exertion, and the pain not all together gone what with the witch's hand still loitering in his chest, Killian studied the imp's appearance of pain. How could a ghost, a figment of his own mind appear to be in pain? Unless it was indeed that link they shared.

A bead of sweat trailed down Killian's temple to strike uncomfortably in his ear. The impulse to admit the deal too early was pulling at his lips. But first, he smiled through the pain. "Why, to see your scaly teacher again. And... I do hope you accept my deal soon... for your dear Rumpelstiltskin's sake if not to satiate your own curiosity." Omitting the preferred moniker, he was left with the imp's name alone to use. "Keep scratching your talons on my heart. It pains him as well and I do so love to see him scream." Killian rolled his eyes towards the previous Dark One hoping the exaggeration may be to his own benefit. "Not so funny now, is it?"

Zelena  
All in all the Dark One looked exhausted and in pain right now.  
Good, Zelena thought.  
She was tempted to interrupt him right after hearing “seeing her scaly teacher again.” Again this tour? Didn’t he try that just a few minutes ago?  
Whatever she wanted to say didn’t leave her mouth when the pirate dropped something that caught her attention.

For Rumple’s sake? Satiating my curiosity? Zelena was confused. What did he mean by that? It almost sounded like Rumple was still alive, or at least - there was a way to bring him back. But he was dead. One of Rumple’s first lesson had been that she couldn’t bring back the dead.  
Oh, he is playing with my feelings again, she realized then. He did it before, and the Dark One was an expert in doing so.  
Out of anger she started to squeeze his heart again, but stopped when the pirate revealed her actions would pain her Rumple as well.  
The word “scream” made her withdraw her hand out of his chest, and she held her hand before her own heart in shock.

“No! No, it can’t be! He is dead, he can’t feel anything! You’re lying!”  
Zelena looked down to her boot to make sure the dagger was still there. It was, and since Zelena had ordered him to tell the truth, it wasn’t probable this was a lie. Unless this bloody piece of scum had found a loophole again.  
It wasn’t necessary to take the dagger out, keeping it on her body would suffice.  
“I command you to tell me the truth! Is Rumple experiencing everything, including the pain, I cause you?”

Zelena’s heart was fluttering in her chest. She couldn’t torture the pirate if that would mean torturing Rumple as well! 

Rumple  
Rumple stared at the scene - from Zelena’s hand in Hook’s chest, to his own chest and to Hook’s pained expression. He looked every bit as pained as Rumple felt. He didn’t feel Zelena’s fingers on his skin, or piercing through his chest, but for some inexplicable reason he did feel the pressure she placed on Hook’s heart, as if it were his own.

The pain ceased when she stopped squeezing, but he could feel the effects afterward as the tightness dissipated. He glowered at Hook when he addressed him directly, shooting back a sarcastic sneer. He would have laughed again if he could have mustered it.

“How is this possible? It’s not possible.” He wasn’t even alive, how could he feel pain? 

He thought over possibilities, following Zelena’s eyes toward her boot where she kept the dagger. This had never come up before…nobody had ever threatened his heart while he was the Dark One. Would it have pained his predecessor as this did him? He was amazed at the possibility of there being something about the Dark One that he hadn’t discovered during his lengthy tenure.

Killian  
With her hand finally flung out of his chest, Killian was able to take a full breath and somewhat relax, as best as could be expected while manacled to a hard table and being yelled at and controlled, that is.

"Aye," Killian admitted as he saw plainly the grimace and the hand clutching. True, the imp hadn't screamed or emitted the noises Killian had, but what he saw was confusion and pain. And she did ask if he felt the same pain.

Flicking his eyes from Zelena to the imp as the latter questioned the possibilities and the complete shock apparent on the spirit's face at the very probable possibility, he considered how to answer the question truthfully. "If it's anything to go by, the im-... The previous Dark One," he amended after her order not to call him certain names anymore, as he looked back to Zelena and her clear desperation etched upon her face. "...Is clutching his chest and quite as shocked as you are, dear. He doesn't believe it's possible that he should feel what I do, but it's clear as day to me. Or night rather. It's quite stuffy in here. Shall we go for a walk, like old times' sake, love?" he added hopefully. Surely she wasn't going to keep him strapped to a table and continue torturing him now. He'd thank the imp if he thought it would benefit himself at all, but he couldn't see that a possibility. It wasn't quite time to be smug while bordering on the precipice of freedom.

Zelena  
With the answer Killian gave her, Zelena went pale. Impotent fury overcame her when she realized what consequences all this had. She couldn’t do anything! She couldn’t lay a finger on Killian without hurting Rumple!  
The Dark One’s description of the Rumple only he could see, clutching his chest, and looking shocked brought tears of anger into her eyes.  
All these years she had used to study, to gain more power, everything because for this moment to take her revenge on the pirate. And now she couldn’t touch him.

Zelena’s mind was racing. What to do now? She had planned everything so carefully. Fist having her revenge, and then… of course! She could still bring him back. How could she forget; everything she achieved was for the power to bring Rumple back!

Knowing not everything was lost, she calmed down again, and looked at the pirate.  
She hadn’t listened to his last words. What did he say? Something with ‘go for a walk’?  
Zelena snorted.

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that. If it is for me, you’ll never see something else again than this chamber, and the inside of your cage. But for now I think I let you enjoy the comfort of the table you’re lying on. I don’t think this should have any effect on Rumple, has it?”

Zelena needed time to think of something new. She wasn’t willing to simply release him, and get… yes, what exactly in return? He hadn’t specified how it was possible to see Rumple without killing him. And letting him having his magic back was something she didn’t want to do either.  
“You want to be released? Want your magic back? If I consider doing this you need to clarify some things first. How would it be possible for me to see Rumple again without killing you?”

Rumple  
Hook confirmed to Zelena that Rumplestiltskin shared his pain. It wasn’t completely true, but Rumple could see how he would assume it was. His reaction to the heart manipulation was coincidental enough with the rest of it. Rumple wouldn’t correct him on that matter, at least not yet. Trivial distinction, or perhaps a strategic advantage. 

Noticing Hook’s reluctance to use his true name, even after Zelena limited his choices for said ‘terms of endearment’. 

“Rrrrrumplestiltskin!” He rolled dramatically. “That’s my name! Why don’t you use it, Dearie? She wants to hear you say it! Perhaps you should try being nice to her since she does have the uh…” he twirled his fingers in a circle above Hook’s manacled left appendage. “…_upper hand!"

As to Zelena’s inquiry if the table bothered her former teacher, he simply leaned back placing a hand behind himself as if stretching. “It does put a bit of a crick in my back, how about you?”

Finally he looked on with interest to hear Hook’s proposal about how they would go about giving Zelena what she wanted.

Killian  
When Zelena asked if Rumpel had any effects from Killian being strapped to the table, Killian looked to him and smiled. "Aye. He's got his hand on his back and is complaining about... a crick, he says. I must admit, Rrrrrrumplestiltskin," he added in mock of the name since they both seemed so very desirous to hear it. "A feather bed would have been much more pleasant."

All jokes aside, as he doubted his good humor in a poor situation would have the desired effects upon his captor, Killian sighed at the question about his deal. "Well, you see, love, if you want the deal - to see the.... Rumpelstiltskin," exaggerating the name with a widening of the eyes at the compellation, "It requires my magic. Not yours. But, if you'd prefer to be alone in your enjoyment, by all means, continue to deny the deal. I'm quite accustomed to entertaining him after ten long years."

Zelena  
Zelena stood there, her fists clenched, and wanted nothing more than to _hurt_ this bloody pirate. Her anger increased many times over as she knew she couldn’t do anything to him.  
She was in possession of his dagger, but actually _he_ was the one who had the upper hand here. And all because she knew her beloved Rumple was there. 

It took all her willpower, pride, patience and _love_ for Rumple to speak out the words that were necessary to see him.  
Knowing the dagger was her only control over the Dark One, she took it in her hand, and waved it briefly.  
The manacles fell off the pirate, and Zelena hoped she wouldn’t regret her action.  
“You may have your magic back, and you may be able to move again, but if you step out of line and try to deceive me, I swear you’ll regret it.”

With another wave of the dagger she allowed him to move again, and waited impatiently for him to fulfill his part of the deal.

Killian  
She seemed to be contradicting herself, Killian mused silently as he watched Zelena after she removed her magical hold on him. Well, mostly. He still felt the command not to try any tricks on her. "Ah," he said wistfully as he sat up and eyed the skin of his wrist. It remained mostly unblemished, and then rubbed his chest in after thought. The pain from her hand digging at his heart was still vaguely there, but it felt good to move again. "You're really taking the fun away, love. There are so many fun tricks you might have enjoyed."

Hopping off the table, his boots found the stone floor again. With a flourish of his hand, he produced a wooden cup in hand. It appeared to be the very same type of cup the tavern wench had provided he and Zelena all those years ago. "For old times' sake, aye? When deals are struck, there should be drinks." He stepped to the side to reveal another cup just behind him on the table where he had just been sitting. "Or do you still not have much a taste for ale?"

He glanced towards the cage and a tall, floor length mirror appeared within and faced the spinning wheel catching its reflection. There was a faint image sitting on the stool beside it. In the reflection, the wheel began to move even though the wheel in the cage remained still.

He watched the mirror with a serious expression. "Can you see him in the mirror? If not, touch the surface of the glass and you will see your teacher as he was using the spinning wheel. The mirror will show you what I saw."

Calculating Zelena's response, Killian took a drink while hiding his amusement in the cup.

Zelena  
_This bloody, arrogant bastard_ Zelena thought when the Dark One ‘complained’ about her taking the fun away and mocking her with his words.  
Then he even had the nerve to conjure the very same cup they had gotten in the tavern when Zelena had hired him to get a simple job done.  
“Do you really think I would drink a single drop of this?” Zelena hissed at him and used her magic to toss the cup towards him. 

She saw him glancing towards the cage, and saw the tall mirror, and the reflection of the spinning wheel in it. Zelena noticed it was moving while the one in the cell wasn’t. But there was something else. On the stool was something that looked like the shade of a man.  
When the pirate asked if she could see him, Zelena knew it was Rumple at the wheel. But he was merely a scheme.  
Zelena tilted her head like she was hoping she could see him better from another perspective, but it didn’t work of course.  
“Didn’t you say you saw him in his normal form?” Her voice was normal by now, as she seemed completely to forget that she mistrusted the Dark One. 

Rumple was there, close to her, and she wanted to see him, to talk to him.  
She stepped to the cage, the dagger in her hand, but suddenly stopped.  
With a distrusting look she turned to Killian.  
“I know you’re up to something, pirate.“  
She didn’t know if it had something to do with stepping into that magic restraining cage. But even if he would manage to suppress her magic, she had still his dagger and could order him to let her out. The dagger worked no matter if she had magic or not.  
The next thing Zelena assumed was he was up to something that involved the mirror. But she had ordered him not to trick her.  
There was a nasty feeling in her, but as long as she had the dagger…  
Her wish to see Rumple was larger than her distrust in the Dark One, and Zelena stepped into the cage, grabbing the dagger tighter, and touched the mirror.

Rumple  
Rumplestiltskin was impressed with Hook’s negotiation skills. He actually managed to convince Zelena to release him from the manacles and allow him use of his magic. Albeit it was all in the name of using said magic to allow Zelena to see Rumple.

The mirror was a clever idea, a way to show her what she had previously missed, the reflection of him spinning while the wheel currently remained motionless. Rumplestiltskin looked on as Zelena cautiously approached the mirror, uncertain if she was to believe her eyes and inquiring the details of the form the current Dark One viewed the previous one.

He disappeared from Hook’s side. Zelena was drawing nearer and finally reached her hand out to touch the mirror, her fingers grazing the glass. Rumplestiltskin raised his own hand in front of hers, his talons meeting the tips of her fingers, mirroring the motion of her hand. Gradually he increased the pressure and slid his fingers slightly to the side, lacing between hers. Zelena would feel the pressure of his fingers between hers and see them as they just began to pop through the now slightly rippled surface of the glass, however she would not be able to see what lay beyond the surface.

Zelena  
Zelena touched the glass, and nothing happened. At least she thought so in the first moment. Suddenly she felt a prickling on her fingertips, and she gasped in surprise. Something, no, _someone_ was pressing something against her fingers, it was definitely _not_ the mirror glass she could feel…

She almost withdrew her hand when something was breaking through the surface, and slid between her fingers.  
Zelena recognized immediately the fingertips of Rumple’s claw. They were real!  
She felt a lump in her throat, and stared breathlessly at the nails, and the shimmer of the golden skin that had some spots of green in it.

Long buried emotions welled up in her, and forgotten was Killian, the dagger, and everything around her. She swallowed, and her hand began to tremble. She was focused on the feeling the touch of Rumple’s skin left on hers, and her vision became blurred.  
“Rumple?” Her question was merely a whisper, and she pressed her fingers gently together so she could feel his fingertips better.  
She watched his fingers eagerly, hoping he would step out of the mirror so she could see him again.  
Zelena almost forgot to breathe, and some tears of joy were running down her cheeks.  
“I missed you so much!” 

Her hard shell was cracked by his touch, and she felt like her younger self again when they had met for the first time, and he had given her her first lesson in magic in the woods.  
She remembered how her heart started to flutter when he blindfolded her, and told her she had to dig deep to pass the first test. She felt excited, and scared at the same time. But she also wanted to prove herself, show him she the more powerful witch, and was better than her sister.  
The first task sounded more simple than it actually was, and Zelena remembered his answer to her question what she had to do.  
“Simple. Find me.” He had said, and vanished from her side.  
Perhaps she had to find him today as well? Was is another test?  
Zelena felt drawn back in time, and she tried to use her emotions to get to Rumple. 

Killian  
When Zelena spoke distractedly about knowing he was up to something, Killian merely smirked. He could have answered her, but he may have taken her focus off the mirror. So, he carefully took a step closer to the cage watching her every move.

She had a death-grip on the dagger. Evidently, she was not distracted enough to drop it. Patience was always his strong suit.

When Zelena reached out to touch the mirror, Killian, very carefully, reached a finger up to graze one of the bars of the cage. The squid ink upon it was still in effect. He wiggled his fingers to dispel the numb feeling that caused as he stepped backwards to peer at the semi-caged Zelena through the door opening instead of through the bars.

To Killian's surprise, the bloody crocodile was putting on a show for Zelena all on his own accord. Killian had a terrible desire to give her a magical pat on her behind to shove her straight into the mirror - knocking her out on the surface would be sufficient enough to cause her to drop the dagger - but he decided it would be more fun to watch this play out.

Patience, he thought. Whatever oddity Rumplestiltskin was up to at present was by no means done by the will of Killian. So he stepped away from the cage, attempted to close the cage door, yet could not, shrugged, and plied his attentions to Zelena's decor and torture devices. Perhaps he'd see what she had planned for him while she was distracted.

Zelena's outcry of how she had missed the figment in the mirror brought Killian's eyes towards the spectacle again. "I do hope you remember how I've granted you this desire..."

He hummed as he tapped a rather sharp implement. The destruction that could have caused a mortal would have been truly horrendous. He mumbled mostly to himself, "Magic always comes with a price..." His voice was so low, Zelena would not have heard him, but the grin he sent her way was full of anticipation. "And the price is not mine to pay but yours."

Rumple  
Rumple felt the pressure increase between their fingers as Zelena realized what was happening and tightened her grasp on his. Slowly he guided her toward him, pulling her hand into the surface of the mirror, through it. 

“That’s it.” He encouraged, even though she wouldn’t be able to hear his voice until she joined him on the other side of the mirror, if she joined him on the other side.

“Concentrate” he continued. She would have to come to his side, it only would work one way. He couldn't step out of the mirror for her to see and hear him fully.

“Feel the emotions, let them guide you.” All the while he also tried to draw her in physically.

Zelena

The pressure he applied to her fingers increased, and Zelena felt that he wanted her to step through the mirror.  
'Come to me.' She could hear his voice in her mind, not realizing it was yet impossible to hear him, but she wanted to hear him so badly that her mind played tricks on her.  
She swallowed, as she felt nervous, but the young woman in her that was so eager to see him again, hear him again, and feel more than a simple touch of his skin urged her to do it.  
Rumple wanted her to come over. She knew. He was the teacher she was his student.  
She focused all her thoughts only on him, and the feeling of his hand gently pulling her through the mirror.  
Then her hand was on the other side, and she felt the slight roughness of his scales, felt him being materialized. He wasn’t a faint image or wishful thought anymore, he was real. Zelena could feel it in every single fiber of her.  
“I’m coming, Rumple,” she mumbled before she closed her eyes, and let him guide her.  
She felt a tingling sensation when her body crossed into another world of which Zelena had no idea. She better had given it a thought, but her desire for seeing Rumple again had wiped out every caution.  
She stepped through the mirror, and opened her eyes.

Killian

Zelena's voice sounded full of anticipation to Killian's ears as the surface of the mirror became mercurial, admitting the witch into the beyond. He cast a glance their way as the impromptu plan began to unfold. The specter of Rumpelstiltskin beyond the glass showed the same anticipation upon the scaly skin as the imp slowly pulled Zelena in. How lovely, he thought with a raised lip in disgust. How simple it seemed to convince the woman to give in to her own desires. Fortunate for Killian that he knew what she desired most.

Unfortunate for Killian because he'd been the one to take the imp away from her. He'd been selfish, needing to satiate his desire for revenge. Oh, he'd gotten his revenge, but the price to pay was too great.

He'd once known that once he'd exacted his revenge upon the imp, he would finally have his happy ending. And then that would be the end for him. He could die happy. For what else was there for a pirate like him?

He'd never known that fatherhood would be an option for him. And once he held Alice in his arms, seen that she truly needed him, he realized he truly needed her as well. To become a better person. But then the redheaded witch offered a proposal. Kill the Dark One's maid and be handsomely rewarded. How could he turn down an offer so great?

Mistakes had been made, grievous ones, and it seemed he would suffer for it for the rest of his days for giving in to his old desires. Never again would he see Alice because he certainly could never risk exposing her to the darkness that had engulfed him.

By now, Zelena had fully stepped into the depths beyond the glass. Curious at what the imp would do, Killian stepped back into the cage to be nearer to the mirror, his fingers trailing along the rusted bars of the cage and finding, with interest, that the squid ink had finally dissipated into the ether. "Mmm," he mumbled deep in his throat, pleased to know that was no longer a hindrance.

Where would he go? Back to the bloody cave? With his luck, he would suffer Nimue or Zoso, or one of the other incessant whining Dark Ones. No. His dagger was still in the possession of Zelena, within the mirror. She was only just beyond the glass and quite distracted. If only he could reach through and take it. But upon reaching toward the glass, his fingers hit a solid surface. "Blast," he muttered. Now what was he to do? Spin? Not bloody likely.

Rumple

Rumple continued to guide her into the mirror and grew more gleeful as more of her came through to his side. She was always a superb student. Not many could make the journey from the living to this netherworld. But he had first instructed her to ‘find him’ and here she was doing it once more.

After she had stepped through completely, Rumple raised his hand with hers and spun her around once as a grand display before dropping her hand to shake his own in a fit of excitement, bouncing on his toes.

“Welcome to the Dark Castle, Dearie! So glad you could make it!” He giggled at the end to make his point, watching her expression carefully. As she looked around she would see the familiar sight of the grand dining room exactly how it was during his long lifetime, down to every detail. He gave her a few moments to acclimate.

“Don’t worry, he can’t see us. He can’t really even hear us. Sounds perhaps, but he can’t make them out. It’s just. you and me.” His long taloned index finger gestured toward her and then himself as he spoke, reassuring her that this place wasn’t really accessible to Killian Jones.

It was Carceri, the realm where previous dark ones go when they are overtaken, where they physically exist when they aren’t mentally tormenting the current Dark One. Rumple and Zelena weren’t exactly alone here, however the dark ones each had their own spaces. Rumple’s mimicked his Dark Castle.

Zelena

The first thing Zelena saw were the golden striped eyes she had missed so much. He hadn’t changed at all, and Zelena’s body twitched as for a split of a second she wanted to hug him.  
It wouldn’t be appropriate, she told herself and almost stumbled when Rumple spun her around. The impressions were too much, came too fast. He let go of her hand and welcomed her to the Dark Castle.  
Her eyes wandered around. How could this be the Enchanted Forest? It was his castle she could tell. The long table with all the chairs arranged, the china standing on a tray at the edge, ready for being used by guests.  
Every glass cabinet was there, filled with all the artifacts Rumple had collected, and the mirror was at its place.  
“How… is that possible?” She asked while she still looked around. “Are we in the Enchanted Forest?” She had barely said it when she knew the answer. This wasn’t the Enchanted Forest. The curtains were parted and she could look out of the window. It was a dull red glow outside and it was simply not possible the deceased Dark One Rumple was living in the Enchanted Forest. So Zelena corrected her question by adding “I guess not.” She pointed toward the window. “What is this place?”  
His next assurance Killian wouldn’t see or hear them didn’t bother her much. After all she had paid Jones for killing Rumple’s maid because she had a crush on the Dark One. And yet it was good to know he wouldn’t know what happened here.  
Zelena was overwhelmed for a moment, but then it came to her that it was actually not important where she was. The only thing mattered to her was that Rumple was here. In flesh and blood somehow, and she could see him, touch him and talk to him.  
“I’m so terribly sorry what happened, Rumple,” she began after a moment. “It’s all my fault!”  
She wanted to touch his hands, squeeze them and beg for forgiveness, but again she didn’t touch him.

Killian

Upon failure of retrieving his dagger from Zelena, Killian’s eyes flicked up to the looking glass again. While it was translucent in that he could see Zelena and the imp just beyond, he was beginning to make out his own reflection as well. It was as if those beyond the surface were fading, becoming more difficult to focus on. Rumplestiltskin, or the disembodied embodiment of the prior Dark One, or whatever the devil the thing was had lured Zelena in so easily, but why was Killian barred from entering? Wasn’t the figment produced from his own mind? And he’s the one that had magicked up the mirror in the first place! Perhaps he truly had been haunted by some form of incorporeal being after all.

But regardless, Zelena was not at present his problem to deal with. While he watched the witch turn in a circle and the imp clap in muffled glee, Killian’s fingers rubbed absently on the area of his chest where her hand had dallied around with his innards. The pain was gone but a phantom of a reminder lingered. What would happen when she emerged? Would she go at it again, taking great delight in torturing him again to pay for his deception? Or perhaps she’d prefer to stay in the dark wonderland beyond the looking glass with her specter of Rumplestiltskin. His reflection was becoming ever more clear to see and his lip raised in disgust. She had his dagger, so he was somewhat trapped in the bloody tower until she returned. Not wholly an unpleasant situation for him. At least it wasn’t the cave.

There was a slight shift in the ambiance of the room and Killian exhaled testily, his eyes leaving the mirror to notice the candle flickering in a wall sconce. “Never a moment’s peace,” he mumbled.

“I thought they’d never leave,” the feminine voice called just at his back. “But to go to Carceri…” Nimue made a tisk sound between her teeth and Killian’s skin began to crawl as if Nimue had run her hand up his sleeve.

“Carceri?” he repeated, unaware of such a place. “That’s the Dark One’s Castle,” he corrected her.

“No. It appears to be as you see it, but it’s only available to the Dark Ones of the past, or to those guided in,” she said, referring to Zelena’s escort in. “And you’ve allowed your dagger to go there.” The disapproval was too clear in her tone. “You should leave this place. There isn’t much time left. Alice, however, is still out there. Such an important…”

Killian whirled around, his teeth bared. “Don’t you dare mention her! She’s not yours.” Unlike himself, he’d succeeding in keeping young Alice safe for all these years. He wouldn’t let it all be in vain by letting any Dark One, including himself, near her. The Dark Ones lie. None could be trusted.

“Time is almost up…” Nimue reached forward, her glittering finger pointing at the glass and Killian’s eyes followed to Zelena’s thigh where his dagger was almost too difficult to see by now. He couldn’t even hear what they were saying anymore.

Rumple

Rumple watched her take in the sight of the surroundings, lips pressed thinly with amusement. He confirmed her assertion. “Not the Enchanted Forest, Dearie. Carceri - the realm of banishment. Gods….” he announced sarcastically. “…and Dark Ones…” his talons pressed to his chest in mock humility. “All of us… immortals.” Then he leaned forward, nose wrinkled in disgust “We don’t get along very well.”

“But!” Here he stood proudly, heels locked together and finger raised to the air. “I am comfortable. And have what I need.” His gaze turned predatory for a moment, calculating, and he steepled his fingertips together, tapping from pinky to thumb in a rhythmic fashion. “….now.” She was going to be his way out of here.

Zelena had apologized and taken blame for his predicament. That was always a good starting position for a negotiation. It wasn’t entirely her fault. How was she to know that the pirate who she had hired was so deceitful, and his nemesis?

“You mustn’t blame yourself. You simply…misjudged…his character.” He needed her on his side so he didn’t intent to be harsh, however he did have questions and if she felt some remorse for the situation, that would play to his advantage.

“What I don’t understand is why. Why try to murder the maid?”

Zelena

“Carceri?” Zelena had never heard of this. “You mean, all the dead Dark Ones are here? And gods?” Zelena frowned. “Are you fighting each other then?”  
She couldn’t believe Rumple could be comfortable here, but it seemed so.  
While she listened to him she continued looking around, paying attention to more details. The first thing she saw was the chipped cup. She knew about that story, and that meant…  
Zelena took a deep breath. Luckily she turned his back to him when he asked her why she had tried to murder the maid.  
She stood there for a couple of seconds and had to think. He didn’t understand? He didn’t know why she had done it? Was he only fooling her now or did he really have no idea?  
His sweet words she mustn’t blame herself that sounded so wonderful in one moment gave her something to think. He knew she had hired the pirate to kill his maid. Well, she couldn’t have foreseen that he and Rumple had a past so maybe he was right? Zelena couldn’t think anymore. Maybe it was this place; a place for immortals where she didn’t belong. She was mortal and even alive. She massaged her forehead as she felt slightly dizzy suddenly. However, she remembered she still had to answer Rumple.  
So took her hand down, and turned around looking at him. She grabbed for the chipped cup and turned it in her hands without actually realizing it.  
She still couldn’t decide if she should tell him or not as she didn’t know if he was playing her or not.  
“I… thought you’d know,” she decided to test him, and put the cup away again. It was obvious that he still loved that maid, and honored her.

Killian

So infuriated by Nimue's mention of his Alice, Killian was breathing heavily, his eyes wild with anger. He wanted to strike someone, but he was alone in the tower. Nimue was but a figment of his imagination. She'd gotten under his skin and whether she really was present or not, there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it. Was Alice in danger? He didn't think so. The Dark Ones were bound to him, weren't they? But with the bloody crocodile drawing Zelena into the mirror and Killian's inability to reach in and grab his dagger made him question what the Dark Ones were actually capable of. He had summoned up that mirror but his inability to reach through it was now completely out of his control. "Bloody hell," he said through clenched teeth as he looked away from the mirror and back to Nimue. Her glittering skin was radiating as her grin broadened. A dangerous feeling indeed.

"Do it," she goaded. "I can feel the anger, the power building in you. You know you want to do it. Act!" Nimue's hand raised quickly and her fingers clenched.

Killian hadn't put up his defenses against Nimue, not in a very long time. He'd always let her act through him before and wasn't expecting the movement now as his hand flew out towards the mirror, his own fingers clenching as the gilded frame of the mirror twisted slightly under the magical pressure. Little fissures of strain suddenly spread across the mirror's surface. He could barely see Zelena and the imp beyond the glass, couldn't hear them, and remotely he wondered what would happen to Zelena, a living being within if he continued to squeeze.

"How... how am I doing this? She's got my dagger," he panted as his fist shook.

"I suppose you had better get your dagger back then, hm?" Nimue tilted her head as she peered into the cage at what Killian was doing to the mirror.

He dropped his hand with incredible strain. Instead, he directed the anger that so easily swayed a dark one toward the spinning wheel. It blasted the wooden instrument into splinters as they exploded all around him. The anger was still there, still building so that he thought he himself might explode. As Nimue cackled somewhere near him, Killian watched as the entire set up of the inside of the tower was blasted into bits.

When it was done, he stood there, sweating and breathing heavily, as he surveyed the damage he'd done. The mirror was still standing and in tact, as was the damned cage with its remnants of squid ink on the bars, but the rest of the room, including the roof of the tower, was smoking ruin. He let out a small laugh, the sound startling himself.

"That felt good, didn't it?" Nimue whispered. "You shouldn't resist so hard anymore. Look." She pointed at the mirror. All he could see was a reflection in it by now. "They're completely out of sight now. You have no reason to stay here any longer. Leave while you still can. Alice..."

Upon hearing his daughter's name again, he squeezed his eyes shut, willing Nimue away. This was precisely the reason he'd purposely stayed away from Alice! But now with how uncertain he was over his daughter's safety, he thought... Perhaps he should simply look in on her. In a blink of an eye, he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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	4. The Mirror

Rumple

“I wouldn’t say ‘fight’…” His nose scrunched as he decided on a better word to describe the relationship between Dark Ones. He finally settled on one to suit.

“Bicker, perhaps. On some matters we agree, but, not many.” He studied her movements as he spoke. Curious thing, picking up a broken cup of all things until she finally answered.

“Oh, I know a great number of things, but the inner workings of your mind is not one of them. Did you wish to take her place as maid instead of being my pupil?” He considered that idea for a moment. “Perhaps you wouldn’t have been as clumsy as she and not break my things!" He sounded put out, but added. "No matter, it's just a cup."

Zelena

It must be this place. The Underhell that did that to her. The air she breathed seemed to become thicker, and she felt like something was preventing her from breathing properly.  
She tried to focus on Rumple’s words, and told herself she was probably just imagining things.

“Of course I did not,” she said, and looked at him. Weren’’t his scales shimmering a bit more golden than usual. She shook her head, and tightened her grip around the heft of the dagger.  
“Would you have cared for me in the same way you did for Belle if I had been your maid?”  
She couldn’t bring herself to admit that she felt something for him, so she skirted around it.  
He couldn’t be that blind, could he?  
Zelena looked at the cup again. Just a cup, eh, she thought. Then she could also break it.

With a quick move she simply wiped the cup off the showcase and felt satisfaction when it ended up against the wall in a couple of pieces.  
“Just a cup?”  
She looked at Rumple, and couldn’t understand why she did that. It was an impulsive act, but she didn’t regret it.  
Maybe she should better leave this place. The fogginess in her mind increased. She was a most powerful witch with the power of the current Dark One. She could surely bring Rumple back…

Zelena massaged her head. “What’s happening to me?” she asked when she realized something here was affecting her.

Killian

It was too easy to find Alice. All he had to do was think of her and his feet found purchase on the cobblestone path in a village. Dozens of peasants walked past him as if they hadn’t noticed someone suddenly appearing there. Perhaps he had appeared invisible in his fear that Alice would actually see him. He knew this village but hadn’t laid eyes on it in a decade. Had Alice truly not left in all this time? He glanced to and fro, all around him, turning in a circle to look for any trace of a blonde haired little girl of ten years as he remembered her, but he didn’t see her. It was very clear that she was near, however. He could feel the familiarity of her presence nearby. His heart wanted to see her again desperately, but his mind was a wreck. _Find her. Get the hell out of here now before they see her. Stay! Ensure her safety before they find her! She’s in danger. From us._

So desperate he was, that he could feel the negative energy building around him again. He had to control his emotions. His fist opened and closed at his side as he tried to focus on something else. There was a reason he had stayed in that cave for a decade. The time had been spent learning how to exercise control. But his recent torture-fest with Zelena had caused him to use more magic than he ever had before and he’d lost control as he destroyed the tower. All because of a little provoking from a dark one’s ghost and the desperation in provoking Zelena to the point where he hoped she would want to end his misery. And he couldn’t help but tease her in the process since she had been so volatile. It was too easy and he’d enjoyed it. Though she had lashed out against him, it had amused him how easily he could still manipulate the once-innocent maiden who had hired him to murder for her. She had been so ignorant of who he was but as a result of his betraying actions had become just as terrible as himself in her need for revenge. He’d never wanted any of this, but he gave in to temptation once and it had landed him in his own form of hell just as Zelena now was. Well, if she ever came out of that bloody mirror world, she’d see what sort of hell her tower was in. Killian grinned despite his feelings over the matter.

And there he stood looking for Alice when he’d been so successful at controlling his need to see her again. This was a bad idea. The fear he had for her safety was enough to leave right away. The dark ones fed on strong emotion, he knew, and he was doing a terrible job at controlling it.

But he froze when he felt that tickle of awareness trace along his skin. What he sought was getting closer. Making sure he was still invisible, he waved a hand before a passerby who took no notice of him at all. So, he leaned back against the post of a building and waited, watching.

A blue-hooded figure was growing near, and his sights focused on her. Familiarity struck him like a bucket of cold water. Alice had grown up. Of course she had. He hadn’t seen her in ten years. She’d be twenty by now. His heart hurt badly at the sight of her, but in relief as well. She was well and safe. Now he could leave. But Alice stopped as she walked and turned her face toward him. So shocked that she might see him, he vanished from sight and appeared on the roof, to look over. Who was the bloody coward now? He asked himself. Alice’s cloaked hood turned to her left and right, searching. How had she seen him? Or had she seen him?

There was something different about Alice. When he focused on her again, he recognized a strong magic swirling about her. She had changed far more than growing up. She looked up again and Killian backed up so that the roof he was standing on would conceal him. "Bloody hell," he whispered. She could sense him.

Rumple

Zelena’s indignant reply set him back momentarily. He wouldn’t have thought so, but it was the only conclusion he could make. She wasn’t offering another explanation after all. Instead she seemed to study him, his face. He felt conspicuous at her scrutiny until she shook her head and looked away, relief washing over him. Had she forgotten his looks in the time he’d been away?

What a silly question: would he have cared for her as he did Belle? Up until now, Zelena had never been as mouthy as Belle but he could imagine growing just as irritated at Zelena if she had done this in the past. Nor did Zelena neglect her studies as much as Belle had neglected dusting. He was thusly ruminating about her question when suddenly she flicked the cup against the wall, shattering it into pieces.

He stood with his mouth agape for a moment before taking his turn to scrutinize her. “Well, at least when Belle damaged my things it was accidental!” He spoke reproachfully, closing the few steps toward Zelena. “Just a cup” he repeated, “but it was MY cup!” With a wave of his hand, the cup pieces disappeared in a swirl of purple smoke. “What has gotten into you?!” He was honestly perplexed at her behavior, it was most definitely not her.

When he looked back to her, it was clear that she wasn’t feeling well. He’d been distracted by triviality and wasted time. “It’s this place. You didn’t come here…naturally. It will make you weak.” He put his arms out to guide to rest on the settee, and conjured a cooling pad for her as well as a glass of water. “You must not stay much longer.” He began pacing, taking pauses to face her as he spoke. He didn’t have much time He thought there would be more time.

“You would help me, I presume, hmm? I-I saw the potion you were working on in the lab. I recognized the ingredients. Very clever, clever indeed. My best student!” He steepled his fingers as he spoke. “The only problem is…it won’t work. It’s not merely death I must overcome, it’s being trapped here in Carceri. There is only one way for me to leave here.” He paused pacing and looked back over his shoulder before swiveling around on his heels. “I must gain power over the one who put me here.” His leather boots creaked as he slowly knelt down in front of Zelena and pointed toward the hilt of the dagger just poking out from the top of her boot. “And you and I know there is only one way for me to be able to do that.”

Zelena

Despite Zelena felt really unwell, she felt anger about his reaction about the bloody cup.  
“If it’s just a cup, even your cup, why do you hold it so dearly? You have other cups and I don’t see any of it standing on display.”  
Suddenly she wasn’t sure if helping him was a good idea.  
She knew it wasn’t about his cup, but her cup. Bloody maid. Bloody pirate. He had such a simple task - kill the maid, leave the Dark One. Why didn’t he just do what she had hired him for!

She rubbed her forehead in a fruitless attempt to get a clear head. Of course it wasn’t working. On the contrary - her outburst of rage made her feel weaker, just like Rumple said.  
Sitting down was probably a good idea. She was barely aware that the dagger in her hand was about to slip, but she noticed in time and put it back in her boot before she made a few steps to the couch Rumple had offered her to sit on.

He was courteous and caring, and he obviously seemed to be worried about her. Zelena felt her affection for him rising again. This was the Rumple she had wished for, the one who cared about her. Her discomfort about the cup vanished, and when he was complimenting her about her potion, and told her she would be his best student his flatteries worked on her.  
She felt she was getting weaker from minute to minute, and neither water nor a cooling pad helped.  
Her mind became clouded, and she became more susceptible to his flatteries.

“You-you mean…,” Zelena paused for a moment as thinking became difficult. When Rumple suddenly kneeled down in front of her, she didn’t believe her eyes. He had never even bowed to her. Well, except when he had introduced him, but he did that to everyone. But this was special. Had he ever kneeled in front of Regina?  
Zelena took a deep breath. “You need… the dagger, right?” She knew she had to leave this place soon.  
“But… even if I would give you the dagger, which I can’t yet because I still need it to control Jones ones I’m back, you have to leave this place first. You can’t summon the Dark One here.”  
He couldn’t, right?  
“You-You’re in his thoughts, he told me. I can’t see you. How can you gain your power back? How can I bring you back?”

She looked around, searching for the mirror she came through. “Tell me, please. I-I can’t stay here any longer, but I need you…”  
She hoped Rumple could come up with something. She couldn’t think of anything anymore, and she began to feel tired.  
Her hands moved toward Rumple, and she grabbed his vest. The first time she dared to touch him. She bent closer to him, still clinging to his vest, and whispered “Help me, Rumple.”  
She realized her request might be ambiguous, but she needed his help by telling her what to do to get him out of here, and she needed his help to get out of here herself.  
Her blue eyes were locked onto his golden, begging him to to something.

Killian

What to do now, he wondered somewhat frantically. She couldn’t know he was still alive. He’d wanted her to have a good life, to move on. But how the devil had she gained magic? Her mother, of course. That damned Gothel. But he dismissed the negative memory. That was too long ago in the past and he would never regret anything that led to Alice’s existence. Alice was beautiful and pure and the magic he sensed had no darkness to it at all. She was something special.

Killian placed his hand over his heart, truly happy in that realization.

“Hullo?” Killian jerked in place as if someone had just slapped him back into focus. Alice’s voice had matured but he recognized it. She was calling up at the roof. “I know you’re there. Why are you hiding?”

She sounded curious. Could it be that she didn’t know it was him? He was tempted to try something, and so easily tempted he was as a dark one, that he did it.

He snapped his finger and appeared just behind Alice. He waited there a moment just to see if he had been right in assuming her magic told her he was there.

As predicted, the clever lass turned around. Her blonde eyebrows shot up in a way so reminiscent of his own, he had to focus to be able to keep the facade going. “Oh, hullo! There you are. How did you...?”

Killian stood there before his Alice, careful to stay back and fully disguised to include his voice as he looked at her up close. The disguise gave him blonde hair, two hands, an imperfect but kind smile, and peasant’s clothing-- everything opposite of the papa Alice once knew.

Proud of her was an understatement. He saw her sword he had given her as a child still strapped to her hip under the cloak. She had been an excellent swordswoman then; he was sure she still was.

“Are you alright? Are you safe?” He had to know.

“Who me?” Her lips quirked up in a smile. Oh how he’d missed seeing her smile. “Course I am. I can take care of meself. I just… thought I saw someone I recognized. You didn’t see…” Her voice trailed off as she frowned at him. “Wait, are you alright?” She stepped forward and touched his sleeve. A wave of her magic brushed against his skin and he felt his control over the disguise slipping. So startled by this realization, he jerked back in shock as he mentally threw his control back into the disguise. “What’s wrong? I’m not gonna hurt ya?” She smiled kindly, confused at his reaction to her nearness.

“No, no, of course not, lass, I know. I’m just… not used to… people.” That was rather true lately.

“Ey, do I know you? You’re familiar to me.” She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head as she looked at him. “I do, don’t I?”

He was afraid she would really see him through the disguise. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to know what she was doing. Did she even know she had magic? Killian shook his head and backed away. “No. I… just wanted to make sure you were alright. Do you need anything? Are you well off?”

She tilted her head again, a smile wrinkling her nose. “What are you? My fairy godfather? ‘Course I’m alright. I get by.”

Killian couldn’t help but chuckle at the fairy godfather remark, even if it was said rhetorically. Well, why the devil not? He raised his chin, smirking. “You are a rather smart young lady, aren’t you? You’ve figured me out.”

When her eyebrows shot up in surprise, he chuckled again. He twirled his finger into a circle to produce a drawstring bag in his hand. It was small but heavy. He held it out between two fingers toward her, careful so she wouldn’t touch him again. “This is for you. Sent from a friend.”

“A friend? But I don’t have friends.” She opened her palm and he set the bag into it.

“Ya do, lass. You just don’t know it.” Had Smee left her alone? Why wasn't she with the crew? If they had marooned her, Killian would strangle his ex-first mate and then the whole crew, leaving them hanging on the yard arm. But this was no time for murderous thoughts.

She opened the drawstring with two fingers and plucked one of the gold doubloons out. A starfish was embossed into the gold. Her eyes widened. “This is from my papa!” Her eyes widened in shock. “Where is he? Do you know?”

His lips firmed into a line. Perhaps he hoped she would figure that out in a way. “He’s beyond this world, love,” he said gently, careful to continue to disguise his voice even if his tone was his own. “But he sent his eternal love for you with that. Anytime you need a friend, or help, you can call on me. I’ll do my best to be there for you. Save just one dubloon and… make a wish. Speak your father’s name and I’ll hear you.”

Tears were filling Alice’s eyes, and Killian had to glance away briefly lest he begin to weep himself. She took a step toward him but he stepped back out of her reach again. “You mustn’t touch me, lass,” he whispered, his own voice making itself heard in his momentary weakness.

“Papa?” she whispered, her eyes searching his.

He took a deep breath through his nose, his mouth shut lest he say something else he shouldn’t. “Your father’s gone. But help is never too far away.”

“I don’t understand,” she wailed.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have shown himself. “Don’t cry, darling. All your papa would have wanted for you was to be happy. That’s why he sent that. One smile before I go?” He tilted his head and tried to smile back at her in encouragement.

Alice nodded and brushed her fingers under her eye to wipe tears away. “Thank you.”

He smiled fully at her and turned. He didn’t want to vanish in front of her and cause her a shock.

“Killian Jones,” she said and he froze. He glanced over his shoulder at her and the look in Alice’s eyes was… strange. “I don’t understand what’s going on, but I’ve seen lots of strange things in many places. I think I know one thing for sure.” She smiled at him and placed her hand over her heart before raising it up in farewell at him.

He dipped his head and smiled slightly at her before she turned and walked away.

When she was out of sight, his appearance shifted back to his own.

“So heartfelt. So warm. So... revealing!”

Killian narrowed his eyes as he turned them to the figment at his side. Bloody Zoso now. The former dark one sounded far too delighted to see Killian’s daughter but now that he knew the darkness had left her alone, he was fairly certain she was going to remain safe.

“Bugger off, why don’t you?” Killian didn’t have the energy or desire to will Zoso away. He was walking with no purpose toward the woods just for some peace and quiet and to be able to think.

Rumple

Rumple was only half listening to Zelena’s ramblings about the cup. Why was it the only one on display? He didn’t even recall putting it there so he had no answer for her. It had no bearing in the matter at hand anyway. Time was of the essence as Carceri seemed to have a quickly worsening effect on her.

She understood him perfectly. “Yes, yes, the dagger. That’s exactly what I need.” He spoke simply, as he could tell she was struggling. She sounded amenable to the idea but didn’t quite grasp the details. “I cannot leave this place without the dagger. I cannot summon him here, no. You must first give me the dagger, and then with it, I will pass to the underworld.” He flourished his hands, elaborating the distances involved. “Even then, I will not be able to return to your realm, unless you finish your potion. But finish it you must, because given a choice between remaining here in Carceri, or the Underworld…” he looked around the room…”this is much more comfortable, dearie.”

He was taking a chance, but if Zelena promised to fulfill her end, he would trust her.

She still had a great number of questions, yet he no time to answer them more than he already had. He was stunned when she reached for him, but he steadied her with his arms and returned her gaze as she begged him for help. He did what he knew he had to do. Slowly he stood, reaching an arm under her shoulders and the other under the bend of her knees. With her, he strode back toward the mirror and gently set her down so that she only needed to take a step backward and she would be once again on the other side. He kept hold of her to ensure she was steady, but leaned back to speak to her. She should be able to breathe better here.

“Finish your potion. When you are ready, send this stone to me and I will know to meet you here.” With a wave of his hand, a pyramid shaped box appeared in his open palm. She would recognize it as the one containing a translucent stone she played with in Regina’s room all those years ago. “Protect this mirror. It is the only way you will be able to see me. Killian Jones was kind enough to fashion it just for that purpose. Little did he know he would actually provide a portal. If the mirror is destroyed, I will be stuck here forever.” And to answer one more of her questions, he added. “Yes, I can see you when you are in his presence. And I am in his thoughts. But here…in Carceri, he is not allowed.” He waited for confirmation that she understood his instructions and when she was ready to leave the mirror, he would hold her hand to guide her, just as he did on her way in.

Zelena

The witch shook her head. “Can’t give it to you yet,” she repeated. “If-If I return without the dagger before I finished the potion, he’ll kill me. I-I’ll return when I have set up everything. I will come back for you, Rumple.”  
He was holding her, making sure she wouldn’t fall, and then he lifted her up, carried her in his arms. His face was so close to hers, and she could see his glittery greenish lips, to tempting, so inviting.  
They were moving. He was talking to her, and Zelena almost missed what he was saying. She forced herself to listen to his words, and looked into his eyes again.

He set her down, ~the mirror~ the portal was right behind her. She turned her head so she could see the reflection of Rumple and herself for a moment. Didn’t they look good together? She blinked, and looked at Rumple again. She had to listen.  
Finish the potion, yes, she could do that. It was nearly done. Send a stone to him; what stone?  
Her eyes wandered to a pyramid shaped box that she had seen before. She remembered well, she had spied on Regina, she didn’t manage to transport a simple stone from her hand into this specific box. But she had done it, and Rumple had watched her.  
She smiled. So he remembered. Zelena nodded, and took the box.  
Send the stone, okay.

She looked up when he talked about the mirror. “The mirror, yes. I’ll protect it, I promise!”  
She hoped she could remember all this. She was so tired. She would faintly remember Rumple’s next words when she was back, but now she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore.  
“Tired,” she said, but she tried a last time to open her eyes. In a few seconds it would be better, she knew. She looked at Rumple, and nodded. “I understand. I’ll work as fast as I can, and I’ll bring you back.” She gave him a smile, and like the first time when she stepped through the mirror to his side, she let him guide her back to the world of the living.

Zelena emerged from the mirror, and the first breath she took seemed to revive her. The fogginess subsided, she felt awake and strong again.  
Her mind was working again, and the first thing she did was making sure that the dagger was still in her boot. When she looked down she saw splinter of wood covering the floor.  
The dagger was there, but she didn’t remember leaving the cage in a mess.

She turned around, away from the mirror, and looked up. Her eyes widened in shock while her jaw dropped. The tower was nothing more than a smoking ruin, everything was destroyed, and the Dark One…  
She grabbed the dagger, and looked around in panic. Yes, Killian Jones was gone.  
Zelena let out a scream of anger and fury, and her fingers tightened around the hilt. She would kill him right away!  
For a moment she was tempted to summon him right away and stab his heart with his own dagger, but then she saw the box in her hand.

No, she had to calm down and think first. It was difficult, but years of waiting and preparing had also made her patient enough to suppress her impulsive desire to kill the former pirate.  
Zelena took a deep breath, and looked at the mirror again. She could see that little fissures of strain were spread across the mirror's surface, but it still was intact.  
The mirror was the only way to get to Rumple, and she would make sure that it would stay intact. She cast a protection spell, and not even Killian Jones would be able to destroy it now.  
She put the dagger back into her boot, placed the box on the floor next to the mirror and walked over to what was left of her lab.

Her heart hammered in her chest when she searched the debris. The potion was essential for bringing Rumple back and if it was completely destroyed… Zelena didn’t dare to breathe, but it was unlikely that a glass vial had…  
She stopped, and stared at a broken vial halfway covered by the broken table, and carefully picked it up. It was partly broken, but - Zelena couldn’t believe it - almost half of the potion, the potion of all potions was still there.

She conjured a new vial, and filled the remaining purple liquid into the new vial.  
It was barely enough, but… it would work for Rumple.  
She grabbed the vial tighter, and smiled. Despite that the Dark One had blasted her tower away, he didn’t manage to cross her plans. Zelena smiled.  
With the mirror intact, the dagger in her hands, the stone and the potion she could do it.  
She sighed in relief, and before she would draw her full attention to Killian Jones she made sure that everything she needed was protected as well.

She grabbed the dagger again, and lifted it.  
“Dark One, I summon thee…”  
While she waited for him to appear she thought about how to punish him. But maybe… Rumple would do that for her. It was probably punishment enough if she would bring back his oldest enemy, so he could kill him.  
Zelena smiled wickedly. She would enjoy seeing that.


	5. The Forest

Rumple

Rumple watched his protégé through the mirror as she dealt with the destruction that Killian Jones had left behind. Dark Ones did have tempers. He was equally pleased with Jones for loosening his lid on the darkness and irritated that in the process he’d almost destroyed Zelena’s potion and foiled Rumple’s plan. Luck was on his side in that regard and he felt a sense of relief when Zelena had stoppered and pocketed the quintessential vial. He was expecting a bit more entertainment as he watched Zelena raise the dagger and summon Jones, but was disappointed when instead she disappeared.

After a decade of plotting, provoking, and patiently biding his time, finally the wheel was set in motion. Rumple was going to be the first Dark One to escape! Curiosity teased at him to accompany Jones, but he had work to do. Let the other Dark Ones pester him for a while. And so, Rumple pranced up the staircase to his tower to prepare.

Killian

Zoso eventually went away to wherever the Dark One ghosts went to when they bored of Killian’s lack of responsiveness. To Carceri, Killian assumed, but he didn’t care enough to have ever asked. He wasn’t rising to the provocation and that particularly animated ghost seemed to desire conversation. Too damn bad. The visit with Alice had drained him. He was glad she was safe, but the visit had shown him what he’d lost as well. And the energy he had used to conceal himself from her had sapped his strength. She was very powerful. Not as powerful as Zelena, but Alice was still young. She had a lot of potential for… something. He wasn’t sure what yet, but he could only hope it was for something that would make her happy.

There was a tickle of awareness at the back of his mind. Something was happening that affected him and Killian froze in mid-step. He listened, his eyes moving as he waited for whatever it was. Someone was calling for the Dark One. Not by name, just Dark One. He cracked a smile of disbelief. It was a man’s voice calling from somewhere distant. It was in this realm of course, but some idiot was seeking an audience with him. The call was made three times and Killian laughed aloud. No, he would not answer. He had no requirement to as the dolt didn’t possess his dagger.

When he focused on his dagger, he could not feel any awareness as to its location. Zelena must still be in Carceri beyond his reach. It still bothered him that he couldn’t reach in and take it from her while she was distracted with the imp, but that was also beyond his control.

What he wanted was a good distraction from his worries. They were eating at him and he was growing more tired by the day of having to deal with them. Everything had just gotten too heavy and he needed a good rest. The allure of the cave had only provided solitude. No rest, however. He couldn’t simply sleep.

Again and again, the incessant call for him to appear continued. He considered popping in just to see what was so bloody important, but being controlled like that would only cause him to grow angry again, and anger would only summon the darkness again. “No,” he said to himself as he walked on through the woods. “Not listening.” Despite his attempts at ignoring it, he could sense that the call was coming ever nearer.

He turned his thoughts towards what he could have for a distraction--several excellent ideas coming to mind--but then another voice struck him.

”Dark One, I summon thee…” The summons of Zelena’s voice was so absolute that it sent a reverberation of demand down to his bones. The call to appear was ineffable unlike the other, less important voice of the nobody. Killian sighed and rolled his head on his neck before appearing. He had no choice but to go, but he could take his sweet, bloody time about it.

He knew where she was and where he had to go. Back to the damned tower. His eyebrow rose in amusement. Oh, she should be quite irritated with him after what he’d done to her tower. Witnessing this would be the perfect distraction. The red smoke engulfed him and he would appear on the ground level by the ruins of the smoking tower. Zelena was up above, he knew, so he snapped his finger and brought her to him in the blink of an eye. She stood with his dagger in hand, her fist squeezing it so tightly he wondered if she already had the imprint from the handle in her tender flesh.

“Careful, darling,” he drawled. “A man’s going to think you’re into rough-housing with a grip like that.”

Zelena

She waited longer than usual. She even checked if the name ‘Killian Jones’ was still on the dagger, but it was. She was looking at the name.  
When she was about to call him a second time red smoke engulfed her, and in the next moment she found herself on the ground level outside the tower ruin, the Dark One pirate smirking at her.  
Of course he had the nerve to mock her, and this time Zelena decided to remind him who possessed his dagger.

She moved the dagger only a bit, but combined with her silent order to stay where he was made it impossible for him to dodge her hand she was thrusting right into his chest. Again.  
She found his heart and gave it a firm, and long squeeze before she withdrew her hand.  
Her eyes were sparkling when she glared at him.  
“How dare you to simply disobey me and leave?” She hissed at him. “You destroyed my tower, I might torture you for that. And where the hell have you been?”

She was still clasping the dagger tightly in her hand, but lifted the spell so he was free in his movement again. Her anger was clearly visible in her face while she waited for him to answer.

Killian

Suddenly unable to move with a mere flick of the dagger, Killian’s facial expression would show strain as she plunged her hand into his chest. His eyes narrowed as he watched her as she squeezed to cause him pain, but delightfully imaginative ways to pay her back for this danced through his mind. But no, like the last time she did this to him and tortured him, he wouldn’t retaliate. He couldn’t anyway, but even if he could, he wouldn’t want to. That was the darkness pushing his thoughts towards violence and he knew it.

When she withdrew her hand and flaunted her power at him again, he just rolled his eyes and brushed his fingers over the space she just molested as if he could wipe away the last tremors of the pain.

“Well, I wasn’t wrong. Manhandling it is then.” She was still gripping the dagger tightly and he flicked his eyes to it to prove his point before taking a deep inhale through his nose and exhaled slowly to dispel the last of the anger she had provoked in him. “I see you’re angry, but I knew it was just a matter of time before you’d summon me to return. Had a little business to take care of.”

His eyebrows rose in humor. “So how did your little… rendezvous go with your teacher?” He said this casually as if between old friends. “Get a little nookie in the process?” He tilted his head as he watched for her reaction to that but wouldn’t give her the space of time to answer. It had been a rhetorical provocation again anyway. Anything to rub more salt in the wound and devil her further for controlling him. He tsked between his teeth. “No? Too bad. Would have done your disposition some good to get a good lay in. Bloody hell, I sure could use one.” He scratched at the back of his head as he looked around themselves in the forest as if any available options might present themselves at any moment.

There was something still nagging at him that he’d set aside from his awareness now that Zelena and the damned dagger were so close again but he looked away from her, his eyes searching. “Shall we move along from this vile wreckage?” He suggested distractedly. Those annoyingly repetitive requests for his presence continued in the back of his mind and he was growing concerned that their proximity was drawing nearer. Not that he feared being found by some random persons, but their insistence was puzzling.

Zelena

Squeezing his heart caused him pain, immense pain, and she knew it. He didn’t scream, but she could see it in his face, and him brushing over his chest. It satisfied her.  
“Next time you might remember that I have your dagger.”

She knew he would make some more comments and try to provoke her, like he had done before, like he always did, but squeezing his heart had helped her to calm down, and she just had to think about the fact that he had no idea that her precious potion had not been destroyed.

So she just listened to his mocking, rolled her eyes once and smiled when he teased about her disposition. She just needed to imagine his expression when Rumple would appear. With his dagger.  
The meeting with the imp had also gave her hope and confidence. Rumple seemed to care about her, and laying in his arms had felt…  
Zelena frowned. Well, actually a bit scaly. Zelena almost giggled when she realized that she had such thoughts. Of course she had enjoyed the moment. He had never carried Belle, had he?  
She looked at the current Dark One again, and since he seemed to be finished mocking her she asked, “Are you done now? Great. So, you want to leave?”

Zelena thought about it for a moment. No one would be able to climb it, and it was probably a good idea to keep Killian away from her little secret. Of course she couldn’t move the portal, and as long as she still needed to finish the potion she could leave everything here. Hidden in a ruin, watched by a dragon. Maleficent was still here, and Zelena needed a place where she could stay.

“Yes, why not,” she answered markedly friendly. “Let’s have a nice walk. I need a place to stay since you destroyed my bed and the roof over my head.”

If Killian was wondering why she suddenly played nice, she didn’t care. Actually, he wasn’t boring, and Zelena liked to torture him from time to time.  
“I just need a few things. Wait right here.” This had been an order. She didn’t want him to see what she was taking along.  
She put the vial with the rest of the potion into her satchel, along with some gold coins she summoned from under the debris, and also made sure the vial wouldn’t break.  
Then she poofed back to Killian.  
“Lead the way.”  
She put the dagger back into her boot, and since her mood had become better she said, “So tell me, what little business has a Dark One to care of that makes it necessary to leave such a cosy place in a tower?”

Killian

"Oh, next time? You know me so well," he said drily. He was still teasing at her, but she was evidently provoking the banter as well. He grinned as they walked away from the ruins and deeper into the forest. At least she had stopped yelling at him. He might actually start enjoying her company, perish the thought! How could she begin to think he would ever forget that she was holding his dagger--he didn't know--but perhaps this was just Zelena's way of warning him that she would do so again at her leisure. Whatever. As if he wasn't already suffering in so many other ways. Her little squeezes were reminders that he could still feel something.

"You thought that was cozy?" he asked with a gesture toward the ruins behind them. "You should have visited me years ago in my cozy cave. I had naught but the bothersome ghosts to needle at me there in dull monotony. At least you keep things interesting with this game we're playing at." He recalled that she was making some sort of potion for the imp which he had forgotten all about in his distraction. What was it she had wanted? To summon the imp back from the dead? Those things didn't happen in reality so he dismissed it as some naivety of a witch in love with a ghost. But she was keeping him around for a purpose and it wasn't for torture any longer if she was intent on going for a 'nice walk' with him. He was certain she was up to something, and in a way, he was curious enough to find out what it was.

At her inquiry over the business he attended to, he shrugged a shoulder as if it wouldn't interest her. “Had a debt to pay. I dropped off some gold to a young woman. Her father’s dead and it’s my fault. Thought I’d give her some money.” He said this as if he didn't care at all beyond making amends for a wrong he'd done in the past. "Believe it or not, I do have a conscience and a moral code, Zelena. If you failed to notice, I didn't kill you when I had the chance."

Zelena

“I wish I had known you better when I asked you for doing a job for me,” she answered calmly.  
She was right, wasn’t she? If he had just declined the job or had killed Belle, all of them could be living happily ever after. But he had killed the one Zelena loved! And he was wondering why she was seeking revenge?  
She looked at him from the corner of her eyes, and after a long really looked at him. If she for once forgot what he had done to her and that he constantly teased her, she might find him attractive. In a way. Contrary to Rumple he was reacting to her more than he had ever done. He teased her, yes, but by doing so he also taught her to keep her temper. Rumple never did that. Zelena remembered that he simply left when she was upset.  
And why the hell was she suddenly thinking about Killian Jones?

Zelena shook her head and looked around. In the meantime Killian was talking about a cave that he had called home as it seemed. Zelena gave him a mocking look when he mentioned the game he was playing with her.  
“Oh, I guess I should feel honored. So you think of all this as a game? For some of us it might not be a game, Dark One. But I know your kind.”  
Again she compared Killian to Rumple, and this time the winner was Rumple. He enjoyed playing games, but he did it by manipulating, planning and lying if necessary to get what he wanted. Watching Rumple playing was like watching an artist doing art.  
Killian was… rude, and plain in his way to get something. He could be charming, and actually he could have used it to lull people, but he didn’t do it. Instead he mocked and teased.  
Since Zelena thought about that now she had to admit that she liked Killian’s way better.  
Around Rumple she never knew if he was lying to her or not, but Killian - he was just blunt, and his mocking told her what he was thinking.  
Okay, maybe the current Dark One had just made up a bonus point. So he was in the lead again.

Zelena was angry about herself that she wasted her time by thinking about such idiotic things.  
The Dark One surprised her by telling her about his business. And what he told her surprised Zelena even more. She stopped, and stared at him. She tried to find a hint that he was lying to her, or tried to tease her again, but there wasn’t. Actually, for once he had allowed her to see the man behind the darkness for a brief moment.  
However, his remark that he didn’t kill her when he had the chance confused her.  
“I have to admit that until now I didn’t think you could even talk without teasing or mocking anyone.” She nodded briefly, and hoped he would understand that she was paying him a compliment.  
“What do you mean with you didn’t kill me when you had the chance?”

Killian

What was this? A civil conversation in the works? Killian stopped walking when Zelena stopped to gawk at him. He raised an eyebrow at her scrutiny but didn't continue to tease her. At least not for now.

She asked what he meant and he smirked, pleased that she asked. As he spoke he began to walk onward. “When you were in the mirror and completely out of sight, you weren’t in this realm any longer. Meaning: my dagger wasn’t in this realm. I had no tie to you whatsoever.” He shrugged, his humor wearing off quickly. “Without your tie to my dagger and me, the dark ones pushed me. Taunted me. Provoked me. There’s a hell of a lot of anger involved in being a Dark One," he explained. Perhaps having someone willing to listen without annoying him half to death was what he'd needed in the past ten years.

"All the emotions are intensified. All of them. Being a little mad for you is a raging volcano of fury for me. Sadness for you is soul-consuming despair for me. Love has no place with darkness, so it makes no sense and causes more problems." He shook his head at all of these things he'd pondered over in solitude as he attempted to explain it to someone who likely had no idea what went on in the mind of someone filled with darkness. Even if Zelena had become a vindictive witch--it was his own fault at that--she couldn't know this level of existence. "Having to control all of that requires almost all of my focus at all times. I haven’t been able to sleep for ten years! It’s maddening! When you disappeared into that mirror with my dagger, my control slipped and the dark ones used me. They tried to force my hand into destroying the mirror with you in it. I had to focus that fury and the power elsewhere. It was either kill you or destroy your tower. The tower lost.” He shook his head remembering how it had cracked on the frame and little fissures snaked across the glass from the strain. “Believe it or not, I don’t want to see you harmed. I know I betrayed your trust those many years ago. You were naive in thinking a pirate could be trusted. You picked the wrong one."

Zelena

This was going to be different. He wasn’t teasing, and she was listening. For the first time she had the feeling there was something between them, like a bond of understanding and also respect.  
His insight of his feelings being a Dark One was something that hit her. She had never thought about the darkness itself, she had just assumed… it simply was there and made people darker. While she listened to him, she began to realize that the darkness was the moving force behind his actions. And he fought it. Every day, and every night. She couldn’t imagine how it must feel to be focused at all times, and never be able to rest. He didn’t sleep for ten years? Impossible.

Zelena was overwhelmed. She had thought the darkness in her was difficult to control, but it was nothing against the powers he had to fight.  
When he told her that he had lost control because she had left the realm, and explained how he had actually saved her life, she swallowed.  
She wouldn’t have survived a day in Carceri, so he had saved her life twice to be exact. She owed him. And he wasn’t finished yet. He had tried to protect her, maybe he had also tried to protect her from the Dark One when she had revealed so many years ago that she loved Rumple.  
Did he know already? Maybe not, but he knew the darkness was… bad. And she was guessing now, assuming and imagining things that might not be.

However, she suddenly saw Killian Jones, the Dark One, in a completely different light. She knew she should be mad at him, and probably hate him, but strangely she did not.  
From what he told her he was suffering every single minute… or… was he just trying to win her sympathy? Zelena somehow knew he had told her the truth, and the truth about the darkness was affecting her.  
She had to think about all this. In peace, and alone. But it clearly had changed something in her.

She became aware that she only stared at him the whole time. She should say something.  
“I… didn’t know,” she began. “I think I should thank you that you destroyed the tower instead of the mirror. So… thank you.” It felt strange to thank him, but it was something that he deserved at least.  
“But I don’t understand why you don’t want me to be harmed.” Something else she could think about. Why did he try to protect her.  
“Wait, you said when the dagger had left the realm the Dark Ones became stronger. Does that mean as long as I hold the dagger I’m somehow helping in holding them back?”  
She continued walking again. “Maybe I didn’t pick the wrong pirate so many years ago,” she said gently. She didn’t give him an explanation, but she was asking herself if Rumple would have done the same for her. She had to admit that he probably wouldn’t have. He was interested in himself, not in others, and in making deals. He might have protected her if he had gotten something out of it, but…

Zelena felt for the vial in her satchel. She was close to finish it, and well, maybe there was a way to bring Rumple back, make him the Dark One again but without killing the pirate. He had indeed a code of honour, and Rumple was obviously used to handle the darkness. She had to find out.  
Killian had saved her life twice, it was time to pay him back. She would not simply let Rumple kill him, not if there was the possibility of finding another way; and there was always another way.  
Zelena had bent the laws of magic further than others, and she had learned that there was always an option.

She looked at Killian inconspicuously, and an idea came to her mind. She would order him to do something later. Something, that might could help both of them.

Killian

Completely unexpectedly, Zelena thanked him for destroying her tower and not killing her. He raised in eyebrow, half concealing a grin, and simply nodded in acknowledgement of her thanks.

Killian chuckled when she asked why he didn't want to see her harmed. “Have I not just told you? I made a bloody mistake. I never wanted to be… this. I should have let go of my need for vengeance and just lived my life. Betraying you ended my life, Zelena.” And look at what it had done to her. She had been so meek then but now she was very different from what he recalled.

"They didn't become stronger, love," he corrected. "They are always the same--pushing and insisting. It was me. My focus slipped from controlling those emotions I told you about, and they took control... briefly." He shrugged as if to say, 'and here we are.' "I suppose that when you possess my dagger, not only am I being... restrained if I were to slip again, but it controls the darkness to your will, not mine." He said this carefully in hopes that she wouldn't do what he assumed she had the drive to do now that he admitted that. She had the power to help him control the darkness or conversely to cause severe chaos through him if that was her desire. At the moment, he wasn't certain about which direction Zelena would go. He only knew she wanted her teacher back, but aside from that, he wasn't sure what she intended to do with his dagger besides keeping him in line from killing her. But since he'd already confessed that he had no interest in harming her, she didn't need to keep such a grip on the dagger, in his opinion. He eyed it again, wondering.

Zelena

The more he told her about the darkness and… himself, the less she wanted to see him dead.  
She nodded when he corrected her about the Dark Ones, and also admitted that he had made a mistake.  
Everything had suddenly changed. Just by him open up to her. Zelena was confused. While she had craved power over the years, read books, tested, studied, experimented and tried to bring her magic to perfection, it had been necessary to make some… sacrifices. Or more precisely - she didn’t make sacrifices, but others did for her. Not willingly. She had tested her magic on living beings, she had to admit that. Never ‘innocent’ people, but people who deserved a bit of pain or even death. A lot of them had opened up to her by crying, begging for forgiveness, promising to make up, just to stay alive. Some stories were tragic, but Zelena never cared. She was only focused on bringing Rumple back and take her revenge on Killian.  
So why did she care about Killian’s background suddenly? Especially his?  
Zelena slowed down a bit, as she was so confused. And she was thinking about Killian’s careful spoken words about controlling the darkness, and not his.

“What you are actually saying is, that I can bend the darkness to my will, right?” She looked at him, when she realized the immense power she was holding in her hands. Or better - she was carrying in her boot at the moment. “I’m not only controlling the Dark One, but the darkness itself,” she repeated slowly and more for herself. She had never thought about this, only when Killian had told her about his own ‘dilemma’, that he tried to control the darkness in him, she realized that her own powers were basically nothing against the powers that she could control now.  
While walking she took the dagger out again, her fingers closed around the hilt tightly.  
All the power of the darkness in her hand. And Rumple needed that dagger.  
She was deep in thoughts, but she noticed that Killian was looking at his dagger.  
Zelena quickly put it back into her boot. All the power… in her hands. It was tempting. And yet… she didn’t want to use it. Not yet, at least.

“What would happen to you, if you had your own dagger? Would you be able to control the darkness by… controlling it with the dagger?”  
Zelena was eager to hear more about everything. The more she learned about every kind of magic the better. Knowledge was true power, and she was curious.

Killian

Killian winced, scratching his eyebrow as he pondered over how to answer Zelena's question. "You could certainly attempt to bend the darkness to your will, but..." He shook his head. "I don't know. I spent too much time resisting it, not trying to control it to do things. I've given in to it more often than I care to admit. A deal or two here or there..." He hated even admitting that. He had only given in to see if complying would shut up the demands of the darkness, but it had only encouraged it to turn him darker. So he'd taken the cave as his residence to be sure he wouldn't be tempted by people seeking out dark magic and favors.

And yet, since he had been summoned by Zelena, he'd used more magic than ever before and now some bloody idiots were constantly calling for the dark one to appear. He turned his focus onto Zelena again to block out the nudge he felt with each summons.

Zelena pulled the dagger from her boot and his eyes followed its movement. He should ask for it back--maybe he had earned her trust-- but what the devil would he do with it? Killian shook his head at her next question and spoke carefully. "I wouldn't know, love. The last time I touched that dagger was when it bared the name of my predecessor." Could he actually control the darkness better by holding his own leash? The darkness was there, always burdening him. What difference would it make if he had it or not? This was not something the ghosts had instructed him on before. They simply wanted him to possess it to keep the control out of the hands of those that would control him. He didn’t trust them, but why would they lead him astray since he was their vessel on this plain of existence? Perhaps there was more to it than he realized. What if it helped him harness the power better? His eyes trailed back down to Zelena’s boot. She had put the curiosity in him that he’d never had over the subject before. His pointer finger ran over his bottom lip as he pondered over this. “I suppose we could find out...” he suggested, a dubious expression in his eyes as he looked back to Zelena.

Zelena

"Have you ever considered to learn how to use the darkness instead of resisting it? You know, ever since Rumple… died, I learned one thing." She paused and was surprised about her choice of words. Why didn't she say 'since you killed Rumple'?  
It came to her mind only for a moment, but she decided to drop it and focused on what to tell Killian.  
"If you made the wrong decision, try not to correct your mistake, but take advantage of it. You didn't want to become a Dark One, I get that. But you became one. So try to make the best out of it. And once you can use the darkness instead of letting it use you, you can find a way to get rid of it."

She kept to herself that she was willing to help him with that task. She looked at him suspiciously, her eyes wandering over his figure. She couldn't believe that she seemed to have a change of heart just because he had told her about the darkness. But it was not only that, was it? Zelena was truly thankful and even touched that he has tried not to harm her. Although she had tortured him. She had, however, gone too far now to rethink her plans of revenge. She would do it, she would bring Rumple back, but she was also not too stubborn that she didn't know that things had changed. And it was a pity to kill such a handsome pirate.  
She smiled, and her smile became a giggling first when he continued talking.

Eventually she laughed when he had finished his thoughts about controlling his own dagger.  
"Seriously dearie? After you just admitted that the darkness pushes you constantly I think giving you the dagger is a poor idea. And I still need it to bring Rumple back."  
She might have said too much, but she didn't care. He knew that had been her plan from the beginning, he just didn't know how close she was to carry her plan out.

They had been walking for quite some time now, and dusk was setting in. "I hope you don't mind cutting our stroll through the forest short, it's time to find a shelter for the night."  
She was about to poof them to her own house in the Enchanted Forest, but she hesitated. Lowering her hand again she gave him a curious look.  
"Didn't you say I should see your cosy cave? Why not inviting me to your home after you destroyed mine? Not that I wouldn't know you had a reason for it." She grinned. "You may bring us there or to a place you prefer. As long as there's a bed for me that is." Zelena yawned to emphasize that she was getting tired and wished to rest.

Killian

It sounded as if Zelena would want him to test out what he could do with the dagger in his position as she told him to take best advantage of his situation. He began to grin in anticipation and was about to put out his hand for it but curled his fingers into a fist at his side when she began to laugh at his suggestion. He shrugged, not too perturbed by her disinclination to give it to him. "A wise decision. You certainly shouldn't trust me..." He made a suggestive smirk of amusement. "I suppose we'll never know what would happen then."

He made a flippant hand gesture at her mention of needing to bring the crocodile back. He could not fathom her obsession with the scaly beast. "I believe if you had spent the last ten years in his company as I have, you might change your mind at wanting to bring him back. He's bloody annoying in close quarters." He'd told her such things before but he'd already learned that Zelena does not listen to his opinions. It didn't mean he wouldn't continue to state his opinion of the matter either.

Killian had failed to notice the sun beginning to set when Zelena mentioned the approaching night. It was all the same to him; day or night were just a mere passage of time. But for Zelena, she would be growing weary from walking for so long. He looked up at the tree coverage to notice the stars beginning to show and he had a momentary recollection of the Jolly Roger at night when he would point out the constellations to young Alice. He looked away.

Zelena asked him about the cave and a place to sleep. With a rather bored expression he shook his head. "It was big enough to accommodate one. That's why the bloody ghosts attempting to torment me were excessively bothersome. I lay in the dirt. No room for a bed." This would explain his dishevelment since he had neglected to care for his appearance. He gestured at the space in which they stood in the forest. "Why not right here? You've a marvelous view of the night sky through the trees. It's a pleasant evening." He tilted his head as he looked past Zelena's shoulder. "Oh, look. How convenient. A bed is already here." He smirked as his eyes went back to Zelena after he conjured a large four-poster bed with thin netting draped around it to keep out any insects or other pests. It was the least he could do since he had destroyed her residence.

Zelena  
“Oh, never say never,” she half teased and halfway meant it when she reacted to his comment about holding the dagger.  
“Don’t take it personal, but after all that happened I might can imagine that there will be a day when I eventually tend to trust you; but I will never trust the darkness in you. I think you’re simply not… experienced enough to handle it.”

Hi comment about Rumple however gave her something to think this time. Normally she would have reacted angrily, probably punished him for saying something like that, but now, after they talked… she thought about it. Could she trust Rumple? Well, maybe she could find out more what Killian implied. She had something in mind with him that would be helpful in more than one way.  
“After you told me about the darkness, maybe I should… reconsider some things.”

She was not really surprised when he declined to take her to his cave, but explained at least why. Zelena was used to sleep wherever it suited her as with her magic it was always comfortable.  
For this night it seemed Killian had decided to surprise her with a cozy sleeping place, and Zelena smiled.  
“A four-poster bed, within the forest. It looks perfect. Thank you.” She walked over to it, pushed her hand down on it to test its hardness or softness (she preferred it not too soft) and sighed.  
“Just perfect. Now, I don’t think anyone will pass this place so I don’t need you to stand guard. Instead, I… well, I think you deserve a little bit of peace for once.”  
Zelena smiled at him (nicely this time), and took the dagger out of her boot. She waved the Dark One with it to come over and sit down on the bed beside her, and since she used the dagger to wave at him it was like she commanded him to. Only this time she didn’t intend to command him, she simply… forgot.  
So when Killian sat on the bed, Zelena said, “You told me you haven’t slept in ten years, so…” Zelena lifted the dagger.  
If Killian would say something, his words would come out in the same moment as Zelena’s who would finish her sentence.  
“I command you to be able to sleep for one night.”


	6. Trouble

Killian

Killian was unsure what to think of Zelena’s musings over potentially trusting him one day even if she would never trust the darkness. This implied that she intended to remove the darkness from him to be able to trust him... which would mean he would live through the experience. She had no idea how these things worked, evidently. She had to know that he became the dark one by killing the previous one. No amount of spells or potions, in his opinion, would be able to extract the darkness from him.

His expression would show his scrutiny over her optimism but he kept his mouth shut on that subject. She could have her wild fantasies over that if she liked but he didn’t believe anything would work short of killing him first. His opinion on death hadn’t exactly changed either but he wasn’t purposely trying to provoke his imminent demise either. For now, he was simply enjoying himself, present company included.

She said he wasn’t needed to guard her as she slept and he found himself approaching the bed with simply a wave of the dagger. “You know, you could simply ask me to approach. You don’t need to control me at all times.” There was no acid in his tone, but she was doing so without needing to. He sat beside her and pushed the gauzy curtain out of the way. Killian was about to ask her why she had done so when she made it quite clear about how he hadn’t slept in years. His eyes widened in sudden shock. “Wait, Zelena! Don’t...” But when her command was spoken, his eyes glazed over and he slumped over to the side, his head hitting the pillow.

Instantly, the darkness began to swarm in a violent cloud around his mind but externally, Killian would simply appear to be sleeping.

Zelena

Did he tell her to wait? Zelena frowned, and watched Killian slumped over to the side. But why? It must be a relief for him to be able to sleep in ten years, why did he want to stop her?  
She wanted to do him a favour after all. And besides, she didn’t command him to come, did she?  
She had only used the hand with the dagger to wave him over… oh, that was probably like commanding him. She sighed. She would tell him later that she didn't intend to command him.

Zelena shook her head, put the dagger away (this time she was not afraid that Killian would take it), and since he didn’t have time to stretch out on the bed, Zelena did that for him. She put his legs onto the bed, rolled him on his back, and covered him with a blanket.

She watched the sleeping Dark One, and since she had planned to find out more about the darkness, she had not only sent him to sleep as little reward, but so she could sneak into a Dark One’s dreams.  
Gaining access should be easy when she used a dreamcatcher. So she conjured one, took the dagger, and carefully tipped the point of the knife to his forehead.  
Traces of white smoke appeared on the dagger, and Zelena brought the knife to the dreamcatcher. In the center she could now see what he was dreaming.  
So far she could see… nothing. Zelena waited.

Killian

_  
He was watching someone in the distance with a blue hood. A woman. The watching shadows continued circling Killian. There were twelve of them. One was the bloody hog Dark One. And then the impression of Rumpelstiltskin standing at Killian’s side appeared. The imp was speaking to him but his words were not clear to him. Killian remained rigidly still as he watched his daughter. Another dark one pointed at the young woman and Killian turned his head, his teeth bared as he spoke angrily at the dark one to stay away. His hook lashing out at the figment but sailing clear through. It wasn’t real but it was real enough to him to cause him anger and fear—more emotion than he could control. He gripped his hair and yelled at the sky as the darkness continued to circle. It was so reminiscent of when he first became a dark one, an experience he had wanted desperately to forget. The dark ones moved, circling him faster and faster. The woman in blue disappeared. Killian was overwhelmed by the darkness as it penetrated him. Flames rose up as the memory of the buildings he was standing between became engulfed in fire. He shot out his hand and the earth rose up further destroying the town he had seen Alice in. He was full of fury and anguish and Zelena would feel the dark power emanating from him, even though he slept still._

Zelena

Eventually an image appeared, and Zelena could see a woman with a blue hood. She also saw the other Dark Ones, Killian had told her about. Rumple was there as well.  
Zelena frowned. Who was that girl the current Dark One was so interested in? And he obviously cared a great deal about her because he angrily told one Dark One to stay away from her. Who was she?  
He went even so far to lash out with his hook for his own kind, but it was just a dream. A nightmare, Zelena could tell.  
She watched the rest of his dream in pity and horror.

Killian was desperate, she could see that, and he was suffering far more than she thought. The darkness was there, and circled him, constantly, no matter if it was in his dream or when he was awake. No wonder he didn’t want her to send him to sleep.  
Zelena flinched when the darkness invaded him. She could see destruction and his anger he couldn’t control anymore. More than anger. Zelena had never seen such an amount of fury and rage.

Something made her to look at the sleeping pirate, and she could see traces of the darkness that were circling him. She backed away from him, and dropped the dreamcatcher. It landed on the bed, and Zelena stared at Killian.  
She had to admit that she had began to care about that particular Dark One. However, she still had feelings for Rumple, but Killian didn’t deserve that kind of torture. She thought about what she could do now. She was really tired by now, but she couldn’t wake him while she was asleep.  
She sighed, and looked at the dagger. It bore the name ‘Killian Jones’ not ‘darkness’ so she could probably not simply command the darkness to leave him in peace for once. But she could try something else.

She grabbed for the dagger, and lifted it. “Killian Jones, I command you to… do your best and don’t let the darkness control your dreams. I command you to dream something nice.”  
Perhaps it was foolish, but this was the only one she could do for him now. The darkness was still circling him, visibly, but didn’t he look a bit more peaceful? Zelena hoped it.  
Although she doubted that someone would drop by while she would be asleep, especially with a dragon prowling around in the neighbourhood, she casted a spell that would wake her up as soon as someone would come near the bed closer than two meters.

Zelena looked a last time at the pirate, then she stretched herself out on the other side, put the dagger under her pillow, pulled up the blanket, and was asleep within minutes.

A shrill noise woke her up with a start, but before she could use her magic or grab the dagger, someone blew a powder in her face that knocked the witch out. Unable to protect the dagger Zelena sank down on the bed again.

Killian

It had been too easy to track the dark one down once he was within close proximity of the dagger. The amateur magic wielders grinned at each other as they spotted the oddly placed bed in the middle of the forest. They knew the dark one was a man so the woman must be the one that had captured him. Or... whatever she was doing with him. The leader wasn’t sure. Regardless, the woman was an obstacle they wouldn’t deal with for long. “Knock her out and get the dagger,” he instructed his second. The powder was thrown at the woman’s face and she fell back, immobilized.

“What’s going on here?” one of the foes asked. “She’s enchanted the dark one?” They looked with confusion at Killian as he hadn’t budged at all. They knew from their studies that dark ones didn’t sleep, even though he appeared to be doing so. “Doesn’t matter, find the dagger!” The leader instructed.

Alas, the dagger was found under a pillow and the man held it up to read the inscription. “Killian Jones,” he read. Killian’s eyes snapped open and he saw what was going on. His eyes moved to Zelena as the men were pulling her off the bed and roughly throwing her over a horse.

“Listen to me, dark one, you’re mine to control now. How about a test. Give me a pot of gold.” The slime ball smirked nastily at Killian.

“What? Do you think I’m a bloody leprechaun? I find that insulting.” Killian sneered but waved his hand and the man instantly fell back with a two hundred pound cauldron landing on him. The man screamed and his fellows scrambled to move the pot off of him. With that distraction, Killian ran for the horse where Zelena was tied to.

Zelena

A strange smell, and a pain in her stomach woke Zelena up. She saw the ground about one meter below her, and she was moving. Yet she herself couldn’t move. Probably because of the dust.  
She could hear screams however, and Zelena tried to use her magic to get rid of the effects of the dust; whatever it was. Unfortunately she failed.  
Boiling with anger (mostly about herself) she could do nothing at the moment but wait until the effect wore off at some point.

What the hell happened, she could barely remember that her magic had woken her up, and she had seen figures coming closer, and then - nothing. The dagger… they had the dagger! Zelena couldn’t feel him anywhere so they must have it. Bloody hell! Only because she was in the woods with the Dark One asleep she had become careless, and now… she could not even see what was happening. Oh, she would make them pay in blood. Zelena imagined terrible things she would do with them. Where was Killian? What had they in mind with the dagger? Damn, she needed to get the dagger back first.

Killian

The man hadn’t dropped the dagger when the cauldron landed on him. “Dark One!” he bellowed. “Get this thing off me!”

Killian froze in his approach to Zelena and turned around. He waved a hand and the cauldron flew into the nearest man, killing him instantly. Killian was seeing red as his temper rose to an inferno instantly. He was furious at someone else controlling him! He squeezed his fist and every other man in the vicinity aside from the one holding the dagger turned into a fish flopping on dry land. Killian gulped as he felt his skin alight, almost shaking with the urge to try to control it. His hair hung over his face in his eyes.

Again, he turned to run after Zelena. Once he’d caught up, he grabbed the horse’s reins. Whomever had been trying to take Zelena was now a fish and not their problem anymore. “Zelena!” He hissed under his breath and saw that she was awake and likely as angry as he. Why wasn’t she doing something? He smelled something and realized they did something to her.

But the leader approached, panting and limping, and clearly angry as he raised the dagger. “Who’s she? Your mistress? Think I’d like to have her for myself. Bind her arms behind her.”

Glaring, Killian did as told by pulling Zelena off the horse. He merely had to snap his fingers to move where her arms were tied. The expression on his face was tense as he looked Zelena in the eyes.

Zelena

Since she still couldn’t move she could also not see what was going on, but she reckoned they had underestimated the Dark One, his cleverness, and the power they were dealing with.  
Good, Zelena thought grimly.  
From the corner of her eyes she saw some movement close to her, and then she noticed Killian’s boots.  
She heard him saying her name and hissed “I can’t use my magic. Something is paralyzing me.” Whatever was affecting her was still working. It was a wonder she could at least speak.  
She heard another voice, an angry voice, and if she snorted by the man’s idea she would be the Dark One’s mistress.  
However, his words didn’t sound promising for her, and she pondered what would happen if the dust didn’t go off? She didn’t understand why her magic didn’t work.  
Though she was angry enough to give him a piece of her mind.  
“I’m not his bloody mistress, and if you dare to touch me I’ll do worse than only killing you! I’ll squeeze your heart and torture you before I crush it! You’re bloody lucky whatever you used on me still works, but not for long!”  
She was so angry that she didn’t pay attention to what she was giving away about herself.

Then she was pulled off the horse, and could see the man who was responsible for all this. She did her best to glare at him, and felt her arms tied to her back. Her eyes switched to Killian. She knew him well enough by now to read his expression, and he seemed to be worried. Not necessarily about her, but about someone else controlling him.  
Zelena was fuming. Killian was still the Dark One, and although he had saved her life before she didn’t know if it was for the sake of the dagger or her. Maybe he would kill her now.  
Not that she cared much about it, there was nothing in her life than revenge and Rumple was still in Carceri, so dying might not be that bad either.  
What really bothered her was that she couldn’t use her magic.

Killian

“Oh...” the man drawled as he heard what Zelena said. He looked to Killian as he spoke again, not interested in addressing a woman. “Looks like I’ve gotten very lucky catching two magical beings. I’m going to enjoy her. And shut her up, too,” he demanded. “I like them silent.”

Killian tilted his head to the side as he continued watching Zelena as the man spoke. If he wasn’t so angry himself, he might have been amused at how infuriated Zelena was and with the provoking words the man had said, Killian would delight in watching Zelena go after him as soon as whatever was used on her wore off. He would have done it himself if he could. Killian could feel the man’s emotions and the delight in his new found power as the man squeezed the dagger. “Careful there,” Killian warned. “Getting drunk on power isn’t healthy…” But he was waved forward to Zelena.

But for now, he might enjoy turning some revenge on her despite being ordered to do so. She had ordered him to sleep the evening before and he hadn’t forgotten the hell of a night he’d just suffered through. He smirked as he stepped closer to her and slid his finger across her mouth in a quick stripe. Her lips appeared to glue together. He leaned forward and ran his stubbled cheek across hers in a barely there tickle as he spoke near her ear. “Odd feeling, isn’t it? Losing control. Having someone else control you... Tell me, darling. Do you regret anything now?” Perhaps he was enjoying this too much. He could probably sneak a way to help her...

Upon seeing that Zelena was secured and silent, the man stepped closer again, his confidence soaring at having gained control over both of them. “Get out of my way, Dark One. Stand aside and don’t move.” The man waved the dagger at him and Killian took a few steps back as the man admired Zelena in contemplation of what he would do to her.

Zelena

“I’m gonna make you pay for that,” Zelena hissed at him, angry like hell but unable to do anything.  
She looked at Killian, not knowing what he was going to do to her.  
He stepped toward her, and his finger slid across her mouth. Zelena’s eyes widened in shock when she couldn’t open her mouth anymore, simply because it wasn’t there. He had glued her lips together, and she had to breathe through her nose.  
To top what he did he came closer and tickled her with his stubbled cheek.  
Zelena glared at him, and her eyes twitched of anger. It was surely not necessary to shook her head to answer his question if she regretted anything, he could see it in her eyes.

However, her attention drew off of Killian when the capturer ordered Killian to back away, and Zelena could feel that he already devoured her with his eyes.  
It made her so angry that she suddenly felt her finger twitch. Surprised about that she tried again. Yes, it was difficult, and almost not notable, but she assumed the powder began to wear off of her.  
In a few moments hopefully she would have her magic and Zelena would rip his heart out and make him pay.  
But she had to withstand a little bit longer. She looked daggers at him, and if it was fear or rage that made her stronger she didn’t know, maybe the powder was now wearing off faster than she hoped, but she felt her feet again. She managed to make some tiny steps back, away from him.

Killian  
“I’ll clue you in to a little secret,” Rosco, the captor said, with mad glee in his eyes as he used the blade of the dagger to push Zelena’s hair aside and traced the etched side of blade along her cheek just to see how she would react to being threatened with the dagger she once wielded. “I’ve been tracking down the Dark One for years, but never had any luck until yesterday. You beat me to finding it. And him. It will be my power soon.” He nodded his head toward KIllian but kept his eyes on the witch. “First, I’m going to enjoy you all to myself as payback for making me search for so long.” He grabbed her by the chin and forced his mouth against her cheek and ear since her mouth was magically shut. But he frowned as he realized Zelena was able to start moving as she stepped backwards. Drake, who had immobilized the witch first, was currently a rotting fish corpse so he had no idea where the powder was now. Nevertheless, he had a feeling he still had some time and if not, he had merely to tell the Dark One to freeze her.

Facing Zelena again, he grabbed Zelena roughly by the neck, his fingers bruising her skin as he explained his plan. “Then, I’m going to take the power for myself. I’ll be the most powerful being in the realm. Not you, witch. And not you either, Dark One.” He tried to slip the dagger through his belt so he could use two hands on the witch.

Killian’s lip raised. “You don’t want to be a Dark One,” Killian said with disgust. “It’s not all fun and games, believe me.” The man would have to kill him first. This was what Killian had wanted before. Zelena wouldn’t have done it. He looked back at Zelena now unable to do anything. That control she had mentioned he could have had... if only he had practiced for all of those years! Now that it was about to happen, Killian realized he wasn’t ready to die. Yet, he could do nothing to prevent it. But perhaps he could do something for Zelena first to thank her for at least trying to help him sleep the evening before, even if she hadn’t known what it would have done to him. Perhaps if he gave her a discreet present with a sharp end on it... He moved his fingers at his side, just slightly, and Zelena would feel a handle settle between her bound hands.

“Don’t tell me what I want!” Rosco yelled. “All I have to do is stab you and the power is mine. But first I’m going to make you pay, Witch!” The man grabbed Zelena again now that both of his hands were free to do so.

Zelena  
He was chasing the Dark One for years? Zelena was surprised. Well, that made him indeed more dangerous than she thought. He even had very detailed plans on her and and Killian’s future.  
She didn’t flinch when he used the dagger on her skin, she would not give him any satisfaction in showing that she might be scared. And she wasn’t. Now that her magic was about to come back, she would simply squash him like a bug.

His long monologue gave her some precious time. She could move her hands by now, and she already felt the crackling of her magic inside her.  
She hoped she had to endure his disgusting fingers on her neck not any longer, and if she would have been able to smile she would do that by now when she saw that bloody idiot put the dagger away.  
Her eyes wandered to Killian when he told him that being a Dark One was no fun at all.  
She would not let him die, this scum would not kill her Dark One, Zelena swore to herself.  
And suddenly she felt something in her hands. It was a handle, and she narrowed her eyes slightly. This must have come from Killian. She nodded at him slightly, giving him a sign that she understood.

His help came right in time. Rosco used now both hands to grab Zelena, and she almost lost the knife when he pulled her close. She did not have time to cut through the rope that bound her hands, but she could use the tiny bit of magic that was already available. While Rosco began to rip off her clothes, Zelena managed to free her hands.  
The knife at the ready she wrapped her arm around him, and stabbed him in the back.  
Rosco’s eyes widened in shock, and he stumbled back. His hand grabbed for the dagger in his belt, but Zelena was faster.  
Using her magic again she cut his belt and the dagger dropped to the ground.  
The witch didn’t care about it, she thrusted her hand into the man’s chest, and ripped out his heart.  
Since she couldn’t speak, she just glared at him before she crushed it.  
The body fell to the ground, and Zelena dropped down beside him. She was still weakened by the powder, and she had almost blacked out because she could only breathe through her nose. She needed more oxygen and focused on breathing slowly through her nose.

Killian

Killian was watching the scene unfold as Zelena’s magic finally returned to her. He was amazed, and in awe of her lashing out, saving herself. He couldn’t move forward until the dagger dropped from Roscoe’s belt. He felt his own ability to be in control surge through him. In a blink of an eye, he was kneeling beside Zelena, watching as she squeezed the bastard’s heart. “Your luck ran out.” He sneered at the dead hunter. “Bloody idiot.”

He exhaled audibly in exhaustion and sat down in the pine needles as he looked back to Zelena. She was breathing in and out through her nose and struggling. “Oh! My apologies, Love.” He gently tilted her chin up so she would face him and swiped his finger across her mouth to open her lips again so she could breathe. And likely yell at him for doing that to her in the first place. He had taunted her about it after all.

When he dropped his hand from her face, he felt a familiar pull between himself and Roscoe. Very carefully, his eyes moved to confirm what he already knew. The dagger was sitting just beside his thigh. Slowly, his eyes moved back to Zelena. His fingers cupped his jaw as he scratched the stubble, thinking, as Zelena recovered herself. Meanwhile, he noticed how her dress had been torn by that savage. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

While he watched Zelena, he felt another tickle of awareness of the darkness. It was pushing him, prodding, and whispering in his ear. _”Take it. Do it before it’s too late! Kill your captor! Kill the witch!”_

Killian shut his eyes and tried very hard to focus. But his hand moved and he laid it over the handle of the dagger. The darkness was becoming giddy. This was the first time Killian had touched the dagger since it first beared his own name. Focus, he told himself, and he opened his eyes. Perhaps Zelena was right. He might be able to control the dark power better with it, but it was still chanting in his ears, still pushing him to act. He lifted the dagger, setting his forearm on his upturned knee and looked at his own name etched in the blade, wondering what he could do to test the theory.

Zelena

Killian was suddenly beside her, and although Zelena thought of the dagger she had first to make sure to survive. It came to her mind that Killian had saved her again - the third time by now, and now he was lifting her chin, and used his magic to open her lips again.  
Zelena greedily inhaled the fresh air through her mouth, and within seconds she felt better.  
He asked if she was alright, and she saw what Rosco had done to her clothes.  
“If I hadn’t killed him already I would do now, this was my favourite.”  
Since her magic was coming back, she mended everything with it. It took her a moment, and when she was finished she looked at Killian - and the dagger in his hand.

She froze in place, and swallowed. His eyes were focused on the blade, and Zelena didn’t dare to move.  
She had lost the dagger. There was no way to get it back that easily, and considering what she had done to him, and knowing more about the darkness than she cared for, she knew she was basically dead.  
Killian might not wanted to kill her, he had said and proved it before, but the darkness wanted to see her dead. Killian had no experience with the darkness, he could not control it. The odds were against her.  
Zelena considered what she could do if she could do anything at all. She had to reach Killian.

She moistened her lips, and her voice was as gentle as never before.  
“Killian, don’t listen to the voices, listen to me.”  
Great, and now? Zelena remembered that he had asked her how it felt to be controlled, and maybe it was time to answer to that. She chose to explain why she had sent him to sleep, as this was controlling him. And he had objected.

“Control is great power, but you need to understand that I not only wanted to do you a favour by commanding you to sleep, I also wanted to see your dreams. I wanted to see what the darkness is doing to you, and I’m sorry for that. But the truth is, first of all I just wanted you to be able to find some sleep after ten years.”  
Since he hadn’t killed her yet, she thought that might be a good sign so she continued.  
“I could see a woman with a blue hood. You obviously care for her, and in that moment you tried to fight the darkness. Really fight it. Killian, you have to stay in control. I know you probably don’t believe me, but I want to help you. You have - to stay - in control.” She enunciated the words by pausing, and their eyes met.  
“You don’t want the darkness to destroy this woman, do you?”

Zelena’s heart seemed to have moved to her throat, at least she could feel it pounding there.  
She hadn’t moved the whole time, she was too scared and worried that the darkness would take over.  
“You don’t want to be the Dark One. Then don’t be. You decide who you are, not the darkness.”  
It was a tense situation, and Zelena realized that she didn’t want to lose Killian. During the last day she had even enjoyed his presence. Of course she wouldn’t tell him. It was only important that she cared about him in the meantime.  
“Killian?”

Killian

Zelena was speaking but so was the cacophony of dark whispers in his ears. They were louder than Zelena at first but he was trying to focus and found he was more successful in doing so with the dagger in his possession. His eyes remained on his name on the blade.

The voices insisted that he kill the witch. But there were many doubts. He couldn’t trust her. She had squeezed and scratched his heart twice, immobilized him, stabbed him with an awl and used squid ink on him. He had to finish her off.

Zelena’s voice cut through to gain his attention as she explained what she did. She saw the darkness as he slept. His eyes met hers and he watched her speak. The witch had looked into his head and saw what plagued him. She saw Alice and the darkness began screeching, its demands becoming hysterical as Killian’s own fear and desperation over Alice’s safety became the forefront concern in his mind. This time, he didn’t silence the darkness.

She had spied on him! She saw Alice!

Anything Zelena said after she asked him about the darkness destroying Alice wasn’t heard. His focus snapped. All he could envision was the nightmare of the village where Alice lived burning as Killian screamed at the sky and the darkness swirling around him.

”Killian,” Zelena said, and he jumped forward, tackling Zelena so that her back would hit the ground as he pressed the dagger to her throat. His eyes looked sick, not himself. “You were in my head without my permission. You weren’t meant to see her.” The dagger touched her under her chin, lifting her face so she would have to look him in the eyes.

She had said he should be who he wants to be. And he saw himself doing this to Zelena as if the man he once was was standing aside watching. But that man had been gone for a decade. Something always had control—Rosco, Zelena, or the darkness, or perhaps the next person that managed to get the dagger— but no longer KIllian despite his own grip on the dagger. “If that man had told me to hurt you, Zelena, I would have done it without hesitation. I would have hurt you. Badly. Because of this dagger.” He spoke so close to her face, hating everything he was saying but there was truth in it. “The darkness is telling me to kill you now.” His eyes moved to look at both of hers, back and forth. He could see the emotion in her eyes. And what if he was commanded to harm Alice? Would he have no choice in that either?

He leaned toward Zelena to speak close to her ear. “Odd feeling isn’t it? Losing control?” He repeated what he had said to her earlier, his cheek again brushing against hers. Very carefully, Killian moved the dagger from her neck to lay it upon the middle of her chest as he moved off of Zelena. “My greatest regret is betrayal.” He released his grip on the dagger with great difficulty but he did it.

Zelena

His reaction was quick and unforeseeable. Zelena couldn’t breath for a moment when she hit the ground with her back and the air was pressed out of her lungs.  
Her eyes widened in shock, and she felt the dagger pressing against her throat.  
She swallowed but laid still, and waited for what he would do. She probably could have used her magic to get away from him, but Zelena knew if she did that, everything was lost.  
She had to trust Killian that he could fight the darkness.  
The witch breathed heavily, and tried to look at him, but she didn’t dare to move her head.

That changed a moment later when he used the dagger to lift her chin. Zelena squeezed her eyes shut, and followed his movement before she opened them again. She was looking directly into his eyes now, and she could see the anger inside them. Admittedly with reason. She had invaded his privacy, but she didn’t mean to spy on him. It was only about the darkness, didn’t he hear that? And why was he so mad that she had seen that woman in his dream?

Zelena flinched when he admitted that he would have hurt her if Rosco had commanded him to do so. Without hesitation. Zelena knew it was because of the dagger, and she couldn’t blame him for saying that.  
Although she wanted to say something to defend herself, she didn’t. This was his fight. She had already said what he needed to know, there was nothing she could say anymore to help him. Zelena didn’t even blink when he told her that the darkness wanted him to kill her. She couldn’t blame him for that either.  
She could see his eyes wandering back and forth, scanning hers and he would see understanding and also regret.  
Zelena regretted for not having looked closer, she regretted that she didn’t bother to find out more about Hook in all those years. He had every right to pay her back.

It seemed he was hesitating, or maybe he wanted to torture her a bit longer before he would kill her. Zelena felt her heart racing when his face came closer until his lips were directly beside her ear, and his words scared her.  
He was right, losing control was something that Zelena feared more than anything else, and her mouth became dry.  
She would like it better if he would cause her physical pain instead of trigger her deepest fears. But maybe she deserved it.

She felt her head twitch when his beard stubbles scratched along her cheek, and she closed her eyes for a moment.  
When she didn’t feel him anymore she looked at him, and her heart seemed to jump in her chest when he withdrew the dagger from her chin, and was placed onto the middle of her chest.  
Zelena just wished he would make it quick. However, she wanted to look into his eyes when he would kill her. She would not flee, she would be strong and face death.  
He moved off of her, and Zelena thought he would stab her into her heart now, especially when he said that his greatest regret was betrayal.  
And then he released his grip on the dagger. It was laying on Zelena’s chest, and the witch's jaw dropped.

What the hell did just happen? Wait, did he say betrayal? Not control? He said betrayal. Zelena stared at him completely in shock for a moment, before she began to move.  
Very slowly she took the dagger, stood up, and looked at the Dark One.  
“You gave me your dagger. Willingly,” she stated, and looked from him to the dagger in her hand, and back.  
With a quick move she put it back into her boot, and stepped to Killian until she was very close to him.  
A warm smile appeared on her lips, and she nodded at him.  
“I meant what I said, Killian. I really want to help you. And what you did just now, beside sparing my life, is a great sign of confidence I probably don’t even deserve.”  
She hesitated for a moment, but then got to her tiptoes, and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.  
“It’s meant as a thank you,” she explained, and backed off again.

She couldn’t believe what just happened. The happenings of the last two days were almost overwhelming. She had learned so much about the darkness and Killian, her feelings had changed, her thirst for vengeance was… fading. Oh, she still wanted Rumple back, but not for the price of Killian’s life. She would probably have to speak to the deceased Dark One again, finding another way to allow him to leave Carceri.  
Killian had saved her life four times now, she could never repay that. Well, maybe once.

“How does it feel to have controlled the darkness this time?” She asked. “I knew you had it in you. You just need practise.”  
Zelena looked around, not exactly knowing what to do now. The bed was still standing there, and she let it disappear.  
“I… have to do some things I need to do alone. Maybe you like to use the time for yourself?”  
She knew the hooded woman was not her business, and she hoped he would understand by offering him some ‘time off’ that she would respect his privacy. Although she was deadly curious who that woman was. Couldn’t be his wife, could it?  
She was almost tempted to use the dagger to find out, but didn’t. He had trusted her with his dagger, and she swore to herself that she would try not to use it anymore.

Killian

Killian merely nodded when Zelena stated the obvious. That he’d given her the dagger willingly. He seemed to have been more in peace that way after they stopped fighting each other. She was certainly better than Roscoe and as predicted, she didn’t seem to want to torture him or abuse the dagger on him anymore.

Killian was still shaken by all the darkness that had been pushing him and her suggestion that he have time to himself was exactly what he needed. He had almost left as soon as he gave her the dagger but had waited, curious as to how she would react.

The kiss on his cheek was by far unexpected and he merely turned his face to look at her when she did so, his fingers touching his cheek as she stepped back. This was kindness from his previous tormentor. She had changed and he knew he made the right decision in giving her the dagger. But still he didn’t speak.

She congratulated him on overcoming the darkness and he realized she was right. He needed more experience in that matter. He knew where he needed to go for that. “Aye,” he answered. His eyes went to her boot where she had placed the dagger. “Call for me when you need me.” And he vanished from her sight.

He would appear in a place that he hadn’t been since the dreaded day that he became a Dark One. There was no time to explore the vault at the time because he was so anguished at the result of his actions. But now, he suspected this was the very place to gain answers to his questions.

Zelena

He didn’t say anything, and Zelena didn’t know what he was thinking. Did he regret to give her the dagger? Did he care at all?  
After she had kissed him she could see that this gesture had surprised him. But it was cute how he touched his cheek, like he wanted to feel if he could feel any mark she might have left.  
And finally he spoke. He seemed to be in a hurry, and Zelena couldn’t answer so quickly as he had left her.

“I will,” she said into nothingness and sighed. So much to think about, and get her feelings and emotions in order. She was glad to have some time for herself, and she still needed to finish that potion.  
She decided to return to her tower. A bit of magic would help to tidy up the chaos, and she could sleep there in peace.

She poofed back to the tower ruin, spent some time to make repairs, and focused on finishing the potion for Rumple.  
The mirror was still intact, and she wondered if Rumple was watching her.

Without interruption she was able to finish the potion some hours later. Now it was time to pay Rumple a visit again. What did he say? She should use the stone and he would appear?  
Zelena searched for it, and threw it through the portal. Then she waited.

**Author's Note:**

> There's more to come for this story... Please subscribe/bookmark, and please leave a comment! Let us know if you like it!  
-  
This works has been written between three authors in a role play format. We are part of a group called Evermore- Once Upon a Time RP on an app and website called MeWe. We write in third person, multi-para format as you've just read here. We are searching for more writers who would like to come join us for more exciting plots. If that sounds like something you would be interested in, please look us up here: https://mewe.com/join/evermoreouatrp and apply for an open character!


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